US President Donald Trump has vowed to allow people into the United States who "want to love our country," while defending his immigration and refugee restrictions.
Trump, who was at Macdill Air Force base visiting troops did not directly mention the case now before a federal appeals court after a lower court temporarily suspended the ban but delivered a speech laced with references to homeland security.
"We need strong programs so that people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in (and those who) want to destroy us and destroy our country are kept out," Trump said.
"Freedom, security and justice will prevail.
"We will defeat radical Islamic terrorism and we will not allow it to take root in our country. We're not going to allow it."
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The remarks come as Washington State and Minnesota, the two states who filed a suit against his executive order on immigration had their lawyers tell the federal appellate court that restoring his ban on refugees and travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries would "unleash chaos again."
They said their underlying lawsuit was strong and a nationwide temporary restraining order was appropriate.
If the appellate court reinstates Trump's ban the states said the "ruling would reinstitute those harms, separating families, stranding our university students and faculty, and barring travel."
The legal maneuvers by the two states were accompanied by a declaration filed by John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former secretaries of state, along with former national security officials under President Barack Obama.
They said Trump's ban would disrupt lives and cripple US counterterrorism partnerships around the world without making the nation safer.
"It will aid ISIL's propaganda effort and serve its recruitment message by feeding into the narrative that the United States is at war with Islam," the six-page declaration read.
"Blanket bans of certain countries or classes of people are beneath the dignity of the nation and Constitution that we each took oaths to protect."
The next opportunity for Trump's team to argue in favour of the ban will come in the form of a response to the Washington state and Minnesota filings.
The 9th Circuit ordered the Justice Department to file its briefs by 6pm Monday. It had already turned down a Justice request to set aside immediately a Seattle judge's ruling that put a temporary hold on the ban nationwide.
That ruling last Friday prompted an ongoing Twitter rant by Trump, who dismissed US District Court Judge James Robart as a "so-called judge" and his decision "ridiculous."
Trump renewed his Twitter attacks against Robart on Sunday.
"Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!"
