Citizens from seven Muslim countries made to return from US airports

Trump’s executive order takes effect

Iran promises proportional response; UN, European leaders, Democrats,

international groups condemn order; affected countries are Iraq, Syria, Iran,

Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen

WASHINGTON: Many people from seven Muslim countries were made to return from airports as with just a few quick strokes of the pen, President Donald Trump on Friday banned — temporarily, for now — more than 134 million people from entering the United States, the American media reported.

European leaders, the United Nations and international groups have condemned Trump’s measures against refugees and travelers from several Muslim-majority countries.

Iran vowed to respond to suspension of US visas for citizens of seven countries, including the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s foreign ministry called Trump’s immigration ban “an obvious insult to the Islamic world and especially the great Iranian nation” and warned it would be a “gift to the extremists and their supporters”.

The statement promised proportionate legal, consular and political consequences, but it didn’t say what those would be.

Trump barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US for at least the next 90 days by executive order, which a senior White House official said later Friday was likely just a first step toward establishing a broader ban.

It's unclear how many more countries will be added to the list, but the official said the administration will be "very aggressive" as it weighs how many more countries to add to the list.

Asked what criteria the administration will consider as it looks to expand the ban beyond the initial seven countries, the official said simply the "mandate is to keep America safe."

"Not going to take any risks," the official added.

That's just one part of the controversial executive order Trump signed on Friday dubbed: "Protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States." 

Many of the provisions in the order are consistent with Trump's campaign pledges.

The executive order bars all people hailing from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- or at least 134 million people, based on 2013 World Bank census data -- from entering the United States. 

Those countries were named in a 2016 law concerning immigration visas as "countries of concern".

But the executive order also makes clear those seven countries are just a starting point for a likely broader ban.

The order exempts diplomats and members of international organisations from the ban.

The order also directs the secretary Homeland Security to conduct a 30-day review to determine which countries do not provide "adequate information" for its citizens to be issued visas to enter the US.

Trump also stopped the admission of all refugees to the United States for four months.

During that time, Trump's secretary of state will review the application and screening process for refugees to be admitted to the US. 

The process is already highly rigorous and often takes successful refugee applicants at least two years to be admitted into the United States, but Trump has argued the program could still be exploited by terrorists.

Trump also more than halved the number of refugees who could eventually be admitted in 2017 to 50,000 from the 110,000 cap established under former President Barack Obama.

Trump also states in the order that refugees should be prioritized for entry on the basis of religious persecution, "provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion."

That would open the door for Christian refugees from Muslim-majority countries to be accepted in the US while Muslims fleeing those countries would be excluded.

"I hereby proclaim that the entry of nationals of Syria as refugees is detrimental to the interests of the United States and thus suspend any such entry," Trump declared in the executive order.

The United Nations refugee agency and the International Organization for Migration called on the Trump administration to continue offering asylum to people fleeing war and persecution, saying its resettlement programme was vital.

"The needs of refugees and migrants worldwide have never been greater and the US resettlement programme is one of the most important in the world," the two Geneva-based agencies said in a joint statement on Saturday.

Germany and France also expressed discontent with Trump's measures.  

"The reception of refugees fleeing the war, fleeing oppression, is part of our duties," Jean-Marc Ayrault , France's foreign minister, said during a joint news conference with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel .

Germany has taken in more than one million refugees and migrants, mainly from the Middle East, since 2015.

Although traditionally open to asylum seekers, France has taken in far fewer refugees than Germany since the migrant crisis erupted.

Some in the French government, mostly ex-premier Manuel Valls, have criticised Berlin's open-door policy, as has Trump.

"The United States is a country where Christian traditions have an important meaning. Loving your neighbour is a major Christian value, and that includes helping people," said Germany's Gabriel.

"I think that is what unites us in the West, and I think that is what we want to make clear to the Americans."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said the Republican's sweeping ban on people seeking refuge in the US is no solution to problems.

"Regional issues cannot be solved by closing the doors on people," adding that Western countries should do more to help ease Turkey's refugee burden.

US rights groups filed a legal challenge Saturday to President Donald Trump's order halting the arrival of refugees and travelers from seven Muslim countries.

The suit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups after two Iraqi men were detained on Friday night at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. It seeks their release on grounds of unlawful detention.

The groups asked that the challenge be given class action status so they can represent all refugees and travelers held up because of Trump's executive order on Friday.

Inside the US, Democrats were also quick to condemn Trump's order, saying it would tarnish the reputation of the country.

"Today's executive order from President Trump is more about extreme xenophobia than extreme vetting," said Democratic Senator Edward Markey in a statement.

Chuck Schumer, the New York senator, also criticised Trump's move, saying in a tweet: "There are tears running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty tonight."