A federal judge in the United States has ordered a temporary stay on deportations for people from seven Muslim-majority countries arriving in the country with a valid visa.
It comes less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump issued a highly controversial executive order that banned all citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Libya) from entry into the United States. The order includes dual-citizens and people with U.S. permanent residence or visas.
Any traveller from the seven countries included in the order who were already in flight bound for the United States when Trump signed the order, and landed in the country with a valid visa, will be permitted to legally remain in the country.
Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union say that as many as 200 people across the U.S. have been detained as a result of the executive action, but lawyers from the U.S. government weren't able to confirm the number.
The stay will apply nationwide, though it is not clear how long it will last.