People protest against the Muslim immigration ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. President Trump signed an executive order that halted refugees and residents from predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

NEW YORK (Diya TV) — A federal judge in New York Saturday blocked deportations nationwide of refugees detained on entry to the country after an executive order from President Trump targeted citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

Judge Ann Donnelly of the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn granted a request from the American Civil Liberties Union to halt the deportations after determining that the risk of injury to those detained by being returned to their home countries necessitated the decision.

Only minutes after Donnelly’s ruling, another was delivered in Alexandria when U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a temporary restraining order to block for seven days the removal of any green-card holders being detained at Dulles International Airport. The second order also declared that lawyers have access to those held there because of the ban.

Several hours after the two rulings were handed down, the Department of Homeland Security said it would continue to implement the president’s executive order. In a statement released Sunday, the agency said “less than one percent” on international air travelers arriving Saturday in the U.S. were “inconvenienced” by the executive order.

Confusion and concern among immigrant advocates mounted throughout the day as travelers from the Middle East were detained at U.S. airports or sent home. A lawsuit filed on behalf of two Iraqi men challenged Trump’s executive action, which was signed Friday and initially cast as applying to refugees and migrants.

However, as the day progressed, administration officials confirmed the action also targeted U.S. legal residents from the named countries — green-card holders — who were abroad when it was signed. Also subject to being barred entry into the United States are dual nationals, or people born in one of the seven countries who hold passports even from U.S. allies, such as the United Kingdom.

The virtually unprecedented executive order triggered harsh reactions from not only Democrats, but also key members from the U.S. business community. Several of the nation’s leading technology companies recalled scores of overseas employees and harshly criticized President Trump. Various legal experts have hailed the order is unconstitutional, lawyers and advocates are advising them to seek asylum in Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted this message Saturday afternoon:

Yet Trump, who centered his campaign in part on his vow to crack down on illegal immigrants and impose what became known as his “Muslim ban,’’ was unbowed. As White House officials insisted that the measure strengthens national security, the president stood squarely behind it.

“It’s not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It’s working out very nicely, and we’re going to have a very, very strict ban, and we’re going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.”

Trump’s Democratic challenger in November Hillary Clinton tweeted late Saturday, “I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight defending our values & our Constitution. This is not who we are.”

Information from the Washington Post contributed to this report.