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I won't allow immigration to become a tool for terrorism: Trump

US President Donald Trump speaks at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, on January 21, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump says he will not allow his country’s immigration system to be turned against the United States “as a tool for terrorism.”

“My administration is committed to your security… we will continue to fight to take all necessary and legal action to keep terrorists, radical and dangerous extremists from every [country] entering our country,” he said in his weekly address on Friday afternoon.

"We will not allow our generous system of immigration to be turned against us as a tool for terrorism and truly bad people,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he is mulling signing a “brand new order” on immigration, following a court ruling that blocked his executive order banning citizens of seven Muslim countries from entering the United States.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, California, ruled on Thursday that a nationwide restraining order against the president’s travel ban may continue while a federal judge considers a lawsuit over the immigration policy.

The Trump administration can appeal to the Supreme Court to immediately intervene, or wait until a ruling on the preliminary injunction order.

Riot police arrive as activists gather at Portland International Airport to protest against President Donald Trump's travel ban in Portland, Oregon, January 29, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

Trump however said on Friday that his administration has “a lot of other options, including just filing a brand new order.”

 Asked if he is planning to issue a new executive order, Trump said, "It very well could be. We need speed for reasons of security, so it very well could be."

 He said that he might take action on Monday or Tuesday.

Trump signed an executive order on January 27 that imposed a temporary travel ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and placed an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. The move also suspended admission of all refugees for 120 days. 


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