(VOVWORLD) - US President Donald Trump on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court’s upholding of parts of his travel ban on people from six Muslim-majority countries and all refugees.
 President Donald Trump delivers a speech in Washington on February 9, 2017. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
In a statement released by the White House, Trump called the high court's action a clear victory for national security and an important tool to protect the US homeland.
Following the decision, the US Department of Homeland Security said the president's order temporarily restricting travel will be enforced starting immediately.
Yemen, one of the countries affected by the travel ban, voiced disappointment at the decision. Ahmed al-Nasi, an official in Yemen’s Ministry of Expatriate Affairs, said the order will not help to defeat terrorism and extremism, but rather will increase the feeling among the nationals of these countries that they are being unfairly targeted.
Trump's March 6 order called for a blanket 90-day ban on people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen and a 120-day ban on all refugees. The court’s decision allows a limited version of the refugee ban, also blocked by the lower courts, to take effect.