A spokesman for Barack Obama says the former president "fundamentally disagrees'' with discrimination that targets people based on their religion.
The statement alluded to but did not specifically mention President Donald Trump's temporary ban on refugees from several Muslim-majority countries. The White House says the ban isn't a Muslim ban because dozens of Muslim-majority countries aren't affected.
Obama spokesman Kevin Lewis says Obama is "heartened'' by the amount of engagement being seen across the country. He's referring to protests against Trump's order on immigration and refugees.
Lewis says "American values are at stake.'' He's praising citizens who are exercising constitutional rights to assemble and "have their voices heard.''
Obama has not weighed in on a political issue since leaving office on Jan. 20. He has said he plans to give Trump room to govern but would speak out if Trump violates basic U.S. values.
Statement from Kevin Lewis, spokesman for former President Obama:
President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country. 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.
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.