US President Donald Trump defended his executive order to ban immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the country, saying "it is not a Muslim ban", Al Hurra satellite channel reported Sunday. 

"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office as he signed several executive orders.

"It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over," he added.

Trump imposed a three-month ban on refugees from seven Muslim countries while refugees from Syria are banned indefinitely.

The order was meant to "protect the United States from foreign nationals entering from countries compromised by terrorism" and implement "a more rigorous vetting process."

But the new restrictions caused chaos and confusion at airports across the country on Saturday, as refugees and even permanent residents of the US were detained by border agents.

A White House official told reporters that people from the seven countries who hold US green cards will be cleared to enter the US on a case-by-case basis. If they plan to travel outside the country, they must now check with a US consulate before leaving to find out if they can return, the official said.

Source: MENA