Former US President Obama "fundamentally disagrees" with discrimination based on faith or religion, his spokesman has said.

The intervention comes less than two weeks after Obama left the White House and is in response to an executive order signed by new President Donald Trump that blocked refugees from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the US.

He suspended the US refugee programme for 120 days and permanently banned refugees fleeing the war in Syria as well as extending a temporary block on refugees from Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen for 90 days.

The move was met with mass protests at US airports and cities.

Obama's spokesman Kevin Lewis said the 44^th President "is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country".

He said in a statement: "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.

"Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake," he added.

Lewis also hit back at assertions the ban was comparable to restrictions put in place under Obama's administration.

"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," Lewis said.