Trump says new immigration order will come next week

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - After facing a series of legal setbacks, President Donald Trump said Thursday he would soon unveil a new executive order to replace his ban on immigration and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries.

"We're going to put in a new executive order next week some time," Trump said during a White House press conference.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court rejected Trump's order, questioning its constitutionality and the administration's rationale, which Trump said was "a bad decision".

Specifically, a three-judge panel said the administration failed to present any evidence that citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen had ever carried out a terrorist attack in the U.S.

The judges also said states that challenged the order, which many have criticized as a Muslim ban, raised serious concerns that it targeted Muslims.

Trump infamously claimed on the campaign trail he would bar Muslim immigration because of security concerns -- a plan he later revised to focus on "extreme vetting" of individuals from countries of concern.

In court documents filed Thursday, the Trump administration said it would not seek a larger review by the court after the panel's decision.

"Rather than continuing this litigation, the President intends in the near future to rescind the Order and replace it with a new, substantially revised Executive Order to eliminate what the panel erroneously thought were constitutional concerns," the administration said in court documents.

"In so doing, the President will clear the way for immediately protecting the country rather than pursuing further, potentially time-consuming litigation," it said.

Trump has come under intense criticism for saying the court's decision jeopardized American security, and for calling judges "so-called" judges after they ruled against him.

The comments prompted renewed concerns about Trump's respect for the independent judiciary.