U.S. President Donald Trump says he will "rapidly" take action to protect the United States after a federal appeals court refused to reinstate his temporary travel ban.
"We'll be doing things to continue to make our country safe," Trump told a news conference on February 10 with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
"It will happen rapidly. We will not allow people into our country who are looking to do harm to our people," he said.
He did not reveal any planned next steps to control travel into the United States, which he has said was necessary to prevent terrorists from entering the country.
Trump's January 27 order barred citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days, suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days, and indefinitely stopped the processing of refugees from Syria.
That order was temporarily halted by a federal judge on February 3.
After the government appealed that order, a U.S. Appeals Court refused to reinstate the ban late on February 9.
Trump called that court ruling a "disgraceful decision" and said he was confident of eventually winning the legal battle.
A White House official who asked not to be identified told the Associated Press the administration will first likely contest the merits of the travel ban in district court rather than file an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court.
"See you in court, the security of our nation is at stake!" Trump said on Twitter after the court ruling was announced.
"Ultimately, I have no doubt that we'll win that particular case," he later said.