A senior policy advisor to US President Donald Trump said yesterday that the White House is looking at all options to reinstate a temporary travel ban on foreigners it considers at high risk of being terrorists. 

"We are considering every single possible action to keep our country safe from terrorism," said Stephen Miller, senior policy adviser to the president. 

This includes: seeking an immediate hearing at the Supreme Court; arguing the basis for the ban more thoroughly in federal district court; or issuing a new executive order. 

Miller said both the district judge and the appeals judges took power away from the president when they ruled that last month's attempt at a ban had to be blocked. 

"The bottom line is the president of the United States... has the power to control who enters our country," Miller said on NBC. 

Trump backed Miller's statements in a tweet, saying he did a "great job" explaining the administration's point of view. 

Last month, Trump signed an order banning arrivals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and freezing all refugee arrivals. 

Washington state attorney-general Bob Ferguson acknowledged that US law is clear that the president has the authority to regulate illegal immigration, but said an executive order must be "consistent with our constitution." 

Speaking on ABC, Ferguson said people have rights of due process, for example. He also said he would continue asserting that Trump imposed the order based on "improper motive," including statements made by people who put the executive order into place. 

Ferguson argued Tuesday before the Ninth Circuit Couort of Appeals that advisers to Trump had made references to a "Muslim ban".

Ferguson said if the case goes back to the district judge, he will have a chance to seek statements under oath from administration officials. 

"We can ask for documents and emails to get behind what truly motivated that executive order," Ferguson said. 

The order caused havoc at US immigration because it was implemented hastily and because it was written in such a way as to ban re-entry for some people already legally residing in the country. 

But Miller stood by the order, saying it was not an argument about the law and the constitution. 

"There is no constitutional right for a citizen in a foreign country who has no status in America to demand entry into our country," Miller said. 

Miller said if the president didn't have the right to control immigration, then he wouldn't be able to suspend admissions from a country with which the US is at war. 

Trump said Friday one of the options under consideration after a court blocked his controversial travel restrictions was issuing a "brand new" executive order. 

The new order could come as early as today or tomorrow, Trump said en route to Florida, where he remained yesterday at his Mar-a-Lago resort. 

Across the country on Saturday the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to detain immigrants without residence permits. ICE on Saturday conducted raids in several US states, US media reported. 

Miller said the executive order "gives ICE officers the power to prevent crime before it happens by removing people who pose a threat to public safety and a threat to national security".

He said the people being detained have criminal records and have exhausted all their appeals to remain in the country. 

- dpa