Former President Barack Obama released a statement on Monday commending Americans for the widespread protests in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration order.

Obama, in his first public statement since leaving the White House, said he was “heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country.”

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

Thousands across the U.S. and the world protested Trump’s ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries as travelers were detained in airports. Trump has justified the ban by comparing it to Obama’s 2011 policy on refugees from Iraq.

Obama in the statement said he “fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion.”

Get our Politics Newsletter. The headlines out of Washington never seem to slow. Subscribe to The D.C. Brief to make sense of what matters most. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com.