The White House is pushing back on criticism alleging that President Trump’s executive order Friday that temporarily suspends immigration from Muslim-majority countries and bars refugees from entering the U.S. unduly targets Muslims.
“It’s not a Muslim ban, but we were totally prepared. It’s working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over,” Trump told reporters Saturday while signing executive orders in the White House.
Calling Trump’s executive order a “Muslim ban” is “ludicrous,” a senior administration official told reporters earlier on Saturday. The official said that several Muslim majority countries, like Afghanistan, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Tunisia and Turkey, were unaffected by the ban.
“We’re dealing with a relatively small universe of people,” one official said.
The executive order in question, signed by Trump on Friday, temporarily suspended immigration from “countries of particular concern,” including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen for 90 days.
A White House official praised those involved in implementing Trump’s executive order.
“This White House conveys its deepest appreciation to everyone involved in the implementation of this order, and that’s been formally conveyed to the managers of both State and Homeland Security,” the official said.
During his campaign, Trump said he would institute a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country in order for the country to figure out a new strategy to keep out radicalized individuals who could pose a threat to Americans.
“It’s important to keep in mind that no person living or residing overseas has a right to entry to the US,” the official said.
Pushback to Trump’s executive order Friday led to Twitter users using the hashtag #Muslimban in tweets critical of the ban.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim rights group, said it plans to hold a news conference in Washington, D.C., Monday to announce “the filing of a federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 individuals challenging the ‘Muslim ban’ executive order signed today by President Donald Trump.”
Iran responded Saturday by promising retaliation to the visa ban.
“While respecting the American people and distinguishing between them and the hostile policies of the U.S. government, Iran will implement the principle of reciprocity until the offensive U.S. limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted,” a Iranian Foreign Ministry statement said, according to Reuters.
An administration official said the White House is aware of Iran’s statement refused to comment further.
