"It's not a Muslim ban," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office at the White House. "It's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over."

The new Republican president on Friday put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily barred travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries. He said the moves would protect Americans from terrorism, in a swift and stern delivery on a campaign promise.

"We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years," Trump said.