REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump's administration has tempered a key element of his immigration ban and eased the ruling which prohibited those with green cards from re-entering the US.

Trump signed the executive order, which bans entry of refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries, on Friday (local time), but the policy appeared to be evolving on the fly.

The ban included those who hold US green cards but are citizens of the seven listed countries. Many were affected, including Nazanin Zinouri who has studied and lived in the US for the past seven years.

But those with green cards will now be allowed back in the country. "As far as green card holders going forward, it doesn't affect them," Trump's chief of staff Reince Priebus told NBC News.

Residents feel like 'prisoners'

As the reality of US President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration hits, immigrants and their relatives grow anxious about what it means for their loved ones.

Priebus added that these green card holders would be subjected to "more questioning" by US Customs and Border Patrol agents when they try to re-enter the US "until a better program is put in place over the next several months".

In a statement, Homeland Security secretary John Kelly also said he deemed the entry of lawful permanent residents "in the national interest".

Green card holders are permanent residents of the US. They are allowed to live and work in the country. However, US media reports said green-card holders could still face additional checks at the border.

Meanwhile, in an apparent indication that Kelly's instructions were being implemented, some green card holders arriving in the US said they had no trouble clearing customs.

All green card holders who were detained at US airports had been admitted into the country by late Sunday (local time), a US official familiar with the process told Reuters.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika