Barack Obama has finally spoken out against Donald Trump's executive order to ban citizens of seven countries from the US, and praised protesters for making their "voices heard". A spokesperson for the 44th president said: "With regard to comparisons to President Obama's foreign policy decisions, as we've heard before, the President fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion. In his final official speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizen and how all Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy — not just during an election but every day.
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He continued: "Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organise and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake." Barack joined political leaders including Prime Minister Theresa May and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in disagreeing with Donald's ban. Following the news, Justin took to Twitter to confirm that Canada would welcome refugees, writing: "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength." Meanwhile, during Prime Minister's Questions Theresa said: "I've made very clear that this policy is divisive and wrong. It is not a policy that we would introduce."
© Photo: Getty ImagesBarack served as president for eight years
Many celebrities have also expressed their views on the ban, with many sharing their own family's immigration stories. "Sick to my stomach today about the Muslim Ban," Kerry Washington wrote, while Mindy Kaling added: "I'm the child of people with green cards. It's a simple twist of fate that I'm of Indian Hindu descent and not something else. Please let's not extinguish the hopes of people who love this country & want to work for it & help its citizens and teach that to their kids." Somalia-born Mo Farah wrote a touching statement on Facebook about the measure, explaining: "On 1st January this year, Her Majesty the Queen made me a Knight of the Realm. On 27th January, President Donald Trump seems to have made me an alien."
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