A federal judge of the USA has issued an emergency stay order that temporarily blocks the Government from sending people out of the country after they have landed at an American airport with a valid visa.

The ruling, by Judge Ann Donnelly of a US District Court in New York, follows chaos at US airports after a number of people were detained under an executive order on immigration signed by President Donald Trump, reports abc.net.au.

The order banned people from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the US - a move Trump said would protect Americans from terrorism.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which brought the case, estimates the ruling will affect between 100 and 200 people, who are currently either in transit or detained at airports.

As of Saturday night (local time), US Customs and Border Protection had denied more than 170 people entry to the country.

President of the International Rescue Committee David Miliband said Trump’s immigration order plays into the hands of the Islamic State group.

“The propaganda gift of this is to people who would do damage to the United States,” he said.

Trump earlier said his immigration halt was “working out very nicely… you see it at airports, you see it all over”.

The order puts a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the US and also extends to green card holders who are granted authorization to live and work in the US.

It has prompted fury from Arab travelers in the Middle East and North Africa who said it was humiliating and discriminatory while drawing widespread criticism from US Western allies including France and Germany, Arab American groups, and human rights organizations.

Iran said it would stop US citizens from entering the country in retaliation for the ban.

BDST: 0918 HRS, JAN 29, 2017
SR