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Judge Blocks Deportation Of Banned Travelers; 109 People Denied of Entry to the U.S.; Protesters On Major Airports Across the Country; Travel Ban May Conflict With American Law And The American Constitution. Countries in Travel Ban List Might Still Add Up. Ared 3- 4a ET

Aired January 29, 2017 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's "BREAKING NEWS".

[03:00:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: 3:00 a.m. on the U.S. East Coast. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Following the breaking news this hour on CNN. I'm George Howell.

CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Cyril Vanier. A Federal Judge is putting on pause parts of Donald Trump's travel ban. The court granted an emergency stay for citizens of seven Muslim majority countries who have already arrived in the U.S. and have valid visas.

HOWELL: That stay also covers those who are in transit, that means that they will not be deported immediately. The ruling came a day after protests, protests at airports across the United States.

VANIER: A U.S. Homeland Security Official says before the court ruling, the U.S. had denied entry to at least a 109 people. And abroad, nearly 200 others were told not to board their flights headed for the U.S. This all happening within 24 hours of President Trump signing the Executive Order.

HOWELL: It's been a great deal of confusion, a great deal of limbo for so many people. The American Civil Liberties Union better known as the ACLU, filed the lawsuit against the travel ban. They released this statement, saying, "This ruling preserves the status quo and ensures that people who have been granted permission to be in this country are not illegally removed of U.S. soil." People across the United States were quick to speak out against this travel ban.

VANIER: Protesters flooded major airports around the country including San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

HOWELL: On the West Coast of the United States, one of those protests took over the airport in Seattle, Washington. That's where we find Gabe Cohen with our affiliate KOMO-TV at Sea-Tac Airport. Gabe, if you could just set the scene of what's happening behind you there.

GABE COHEN, KOMO TV AFFILIATE REPORTER: Oh, George, this has become the story that I hear, protesters blocking those security checkpoints chanting, "No one gets in until they get out." And I want to bring you over here for a second to show you. Protesters have blocked up so many exits here at Sea-Tac. That's where we've seen some of the most- tense moments tonight as arriving passengers, getting off flights, tried to exit the airport only to have some of these protesters block their way. We saw some minors stop (INAUDIBLE) police though have tried to stay ahead of the game as these hundreds of protesters have occupied the airport.

They opened up (INAUDIBLE) entrance of the building. That's how they were trying to let arriving passengers out. But the protesters picked up on that. They formed lines outside and again, we saw some of those tense moments. Police also trying to open up a checkpoint just behind where these protesters are standing here. They were carefully, struggling travelers through but protesters again, forming lines, trying to block these travelers from getting through. At this point, we don't know of any major delays tonight or tomorrow morning, but these protesters have vowed to stay here through the night, George.

HOWELL: A lot of people there in a very busy part of that airport that I know well. The protests, have they remained peaceful?

COHEN: As far as we can tell, they have remained peaceful. We have seen some pushing and shoving again between arriving passengers, even people trying to leave the airport, trying to go through to get their flights as well as officers. Officers for the most part, the police have remained full calm and collective as protesters push up against them. They've tried to keep them formed in a line, but police telling me tonight that they have no arrests. So, as far as we can tell, it has remained peaceful, George.

HOWELL: Gabe, one other question. Is there any indication as to whether these protesters will be able to stay there in the airport or will they be asked to leave at some point? Because there are so many people there voicing their concerns about this travel ban.

COHEN: We don't know at this point. As of now, there hasn't been any indication that they're going to be escorted out. For the past hour or two, they've remained in a couple of places around the airport. Earlier in the night, they were moving throughout and the police were trying to dive them a little bit. But as of now, from what we can tell, they're going to let them stay right here and protest.

HOWELL: Gabe Cohen at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, Washington with CNN affiliate KOMO TV. Gabe, thank you so much for the report.

VANIER: So what does that Executive Order that was signed on Friday actually say? Let's run you through it. And for these people from seven countries from entering the U.S. for three months. Those countries are all predominantly Muslim. Here they are: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia.

HOWELL: The order also suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days until so-called "extreme vetting" procedures are put in place. Syrian refugees, they are barred indefinitely. Also, people holding certain visas will now have to undergo an in-person interview in order to renew them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: We're joined now by Jonathan Turley, Law Professor at George Washington University. Jonathan, I want to look at the legal side of this with you and examine where this may or may not conflict with American Law and the American Constitution. What do you think?

[03:05:16] JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, LAW PROFESSOR: Well, first of all, the judge likely issued the stay, because people were going to be put into an irreparable situation where they'd be sent home. So often, judges will freeze the action of the case. They say, "All right, stop, let's take a look at this before anyone has anything done to them that won't be easy to reverse." So the stay has to be considered separately from the merits and the sans, ultimately --

VANIER: So, essentially, that's means they decided to put the whole situation regarding immigrants and refugees on pause until such time as they could rule on the merits of the case? Is that what you're saying?

TURLEY: Right. In order to get even a preliminary injunction, the ACLU is going to have to establish that they're likely to prevail upon the merits. That's a very tough standard because what President Trump is using here is historic power by presidents -- the president's power is at the zenith at the borders of the country. And unfortunately, our history is replete with examples of immigration laws that have singled out particular countries or groups. And these are not the proudest moments in our history. It's ironic today, being the Chinese New Year. Many of them deal with the exclusion of Chinese individuals in our country.

Those laws were upheld. Those actions by Presidents were allowed. Even President Obama, just last year, argued to the Supreme Court that Court should not be second-guessing a president's decision -- decisions on immigration and national security. So it will be a tough call to make for court to reverse the president who's saying, "For National Security reasons, I want a halt any immigration or entry from these countries."

Now, President Obama -- sorry, President Trump has made this a little more difficult for his lawyers by giving an interview and saying that he wants to give priority or some type of favoritism towards Christians who have been discriminated against. That's certainly going to add an argument in the ACLU. But overall, presidents have been granted pretty wide authority in determining who can cross the border.

VANIER: On the grounds, if I follow you that it's an issue of security. Correct?

TURLEY: It is. And courts generally don't second-guess a president's decision in that regard. I happen to think that this Executive Order is a terrible move and I believe it does contradict the values of our country. But that's separate for a court from the legal question of whether a president can do that. Now, it's also important to remember that the state reminds everyone that we are not one grand system. There are two other branches that can be heard on issues of this kind.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: That was Jonathan Turley, Law Professor at George Washington University.

HOWELL: The Department of Homeland Security has looked over the recent rulings and is now saying the following. That it will, quote, "Comply with judicial orders faithfully and force our immigration laws and implement the President's Executive Orders to ensure that those entering the United States do not pose a threat to our country or to the American people." The Department says the travel ban affect less than one percent of the international air travelers who arrive in the United States.

VANIER: Earlier Saturday, the U.S. President responded to the controversy before the stay was granted.

HOWELL: And he stood behind his Executive Orders, saying it's already successful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: It's not a Muslim ban, but a (INAUDIBLE 03:08:55) affair that's working out very nicely. You see it at the airports, you see it all over. It's working out very nicely, and we're going to have a very, very strict ban. And we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: OK. We're also getting reaction from Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May, just a day after she met with the U.S. President. Well, she's now issued a sharp rebuke to Mr. Trump's travel ban

HOWELL: Just a short time ago, she released this statement, quote, "Immigration Policy in the United States is a matter for the government of the United States. Just the same as Immigration Policy for this country should be set by our government. But we do not agree with this kind of approach. And it is not one we will be taking. We are studying this new Executive Order to see what it means and what the legal effects are. And in particular, what the consequences are for U.K. nationals. If there is any impact on U.K. nationals, then clearly, we will make representations to the U.S. government about that.

VANIER: Hillary Clinton has also reacted in a tweet. "I stand with the people gathered across the country tonight, defending our values and our constitution. This is not who we are."

[03:10:06] HOWELL: The U.S. travel ban have sent shockwaves around the world. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is live following the story for us in Amman, Jordan with the reaction throughout the Middle East. Jomana?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, George, I think there's a lot of confusion and chaos to an extent. I mean, yesterday is we were trying on Saturday to reach out to various airports and airlines. It seemed that some had received this updated travel ban, others had not. Just a short time ago, I got off the phone to Royal Jordanian, that's Jordan's national carrier. And they said that they had just received this update on travel ban and that they're going to be starting to implement this effective immediately. I mean, there's a lot of concern about what this means. And of course, there's a lot of frustrations and disappointment when you look at -- for example, Syrians and Iraqi's who will be impacted by this.

You know, over the years we've spoken to so many Syrian refugees. For example, in Jordan. This is one country -- one neighboring country that is hosting more than a million Syrian refugees, according to the country here. And people we've spoken to, George, over the years say they don't necessarily want to leave. They want to travel far away from Syria but they feel they are forced to do this because life for them in neighboring countries like Jordan, for example, is life in limbo. So, they want to try and get a better life in places like the United States and Europe, for example until things settle down and then they can see what happens to their future. And that's one group. And then you have Iraqi's.

I spent seven years in Iraq, during the war in Iraq, and I've met so many Iraqi's who've worked for American interests there whether it was the Iraqi's who were working with various American companies there or was it Iraqi's thousands of them who worked as translators alongside U.S. troops out there in the battlefields of Iraq. And they really risked their lives working with Americans. They risked their lives for America. They feel they're seen as traitors by so many. They're seen as collaborators by extremist groups like ISIS, for example. And even the Shia Militia that have been involved in their country right now. They are really concerned because, George, we're talking about people who have been waiting for years to try and get resettlement in the United States. And now, of course, their dreams have been dashed by this.

HOWELL: At the same time, these countries that have been named, the President of the United States, Donald Trump has pointed out that this is to stop terrorism. He has pointed to what happened in New York on September 11, 2001. But it is important to point out that many of the people involved on that came from Saudi Arabia, a country that is not named in this. The question, is there a question about consistency throughout the Middle East about this travel ban?

KARADSHEH: Of course, George, people were seeing it right now, they say yes, you know, some of the people that we spoken to, they see it -- yes, impacting these seven countries -- predominantly Muslim countries. And as you mentioned, there has been really no records of Iraqi or Syrian refugees carrying out terrorist attacks so far in the United States. And so, there is a lot of concern on what this actually means. People think that right, it started now with these countries but this could expand, for example to other countries. People are really concerned about this even Jordanians. Jordan is a close ally to the United States that is not impacted by this right now. There are some Jordanians students towards in the United States. And we have to mention, there are a lot of students from these countries and other Arab-Muslim countries who are in the United States on student visas and studying there. And some of these Jordanian students who are saying they really do not want to risk leaving the U.S. to come back, for example, to Jordan on a holiday, and then got stuck here not being able to get back because of this unpredictability they see at this new U.S. administration. So there is a lot of concern that this is just the beginning. George.

HOWELL: Drawing on the expertise and the many years covering this of our Correspondents like Jomana Karadsheh, live for us in Amman, Jordan. Jamana, thank you for your reporting today.

VANIER: And for Jaman's point, the White House said that, that list of seven countries is probably just the beginning. There might be more countries added to that list.

HOWELL: Coming up, more of course on President Trump's travel ban. We'll hear from a political commentator who says the controversial order was the right thing to do.

VANIER: Also, an Iraqi woman's routine flight toe the United States, joined her husband, abruptly interrupted by President Trump's travel ban. She speaks to CNN's Arwa Damon about her suddenly desperate situation.

HOWELL: Take a look at this with the Breaking News Coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:15:00] CYRIL VANIER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back. Our "BREAKING NEWS" coverage continues. A federal judge is putting on pause parts of the travel ban signed Friday by U.S. President Donald Trump. The emergency stay covers travelers with valid Visas who are already in the U.S. or currently in transit.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: There had been many protests at several airports across the United States against the President's Executive Order. That order bans people from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the U.S. for the next 90 days.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANIER: CNN political commentator Jeffrey Lord is with us, a supporter of Donald Trump. Jeffrey, talk to me first about the efficiency argument behind this law. The premise not this law, this Executive Order, the premise is that it's there to protect Americans. My question, what does it actually do to protect U.S. citizens?

JEFFREY LORD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, the idea of course is to make sure that nobody sneaks in under the guise of being a Syrian refugee. And as you know, Cyril, you're a French? That is exactly what happened when a 198 Syrian refugees came ashore on a Greek island of Leros, and two of them were -- four of them, I actually think but two of them wound up participating in the attack in Paris later that year. That's what you're --

VANIER: It seems to me that the French example, although no one who would call into doubt the fact that there are threats on both western Europe and the U.S. coming from say, the Islamic state group and the Al-Qaeda groups. Seems to me, France and the U.S. are very different in -- that the U.S. already has vetting procedures that were not the case for France and that there is an ocean between the Middle East and the U.S.

[03:20:13] LORD: All right, well, oceans sadly which once protected us, don't anymore. And as we all know, in America, we had this attack in San Bernardino, the woman half of the team bear of assassins, if you will, came in here on what they call a K-1 fiance Visa, she was not vetted properly, there were apparently all kinds of things on her social media that indicated she was coming here to commit jihad. She was not checked out, she came in here and 14 people who went to an office Christmas party in California are dead because of that. That's unacceptable. I mean, you know, that's the most basic rule of society, right? You have to protect your country.

VANIER: This -- one of the motivations and the general context that is cited in this Executive Order are the 9/11 attacks. Now, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen explains to us essentially that there is a misconception now. That our view of security is tainted by the 9/11 attacks but citizens of the U.S. and legal U.S. residence have carried out all deadly radical Islamist terrorist attacks in the U.S. since that date. So what does that Executive Order do for this threat?

LORD: Just because that's the case doesn't mean it can't happen. It did happen. It happened in France. I mean, the western world is as one here. The objective is, anyone who is a westerner. So it can happen, and as I was saying earlier --

VANIER: But again, people who went to France and carried out these attacks infiltrated a large flocks of migrants. That's not happening in the U.S. And that's not in any danger of happening in the U.S.

LORD: But Cyril, here's what happens. As I -- as I mentioned earlier tonight, the Bush administration did not check on this things in pre- 9/11. And they were castigated for not doing so because 3, 000 Americans plus wound up dead after 9/11. I am suggesting to you that the President of the United States, whomever that might be, is going to be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. If he does it George Bush's way, he's going to be called negligent and incompetent and deaf to the facts. If he does it Donald Trump's way, he's going to be damned because he's taking all this precautions and all these inconveniences are out there. President Trump deserves the profile of courage award for standing up and doing this. He's going to -- he's going to get tremendous amount of criticism.

But I assure you, I can totally tell you this. If in fact somebody came in here through one of these refugee situations and wound up killing Americans, you would start seeing immediately things in the media saying, he was incompetent, he paid no attention, he ignored things. That's just the way human life is, I guess, and certainly that's the way it is in the media. So bravo to him for taking all of these flack.

VANIER: CNN Political Commentator Jeffrey Lord, thank you very much for joining us. Thanks.

LORD: Thank you, Cyril.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: So, before the travel ban, here is what Syrian refugees went through to get in to the United States. The average refugee application, it took 18 to 24 months to process. But Syrian applications can take longer. The applications have been screened by several government agencies including the State Department, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Homeland Security then conducts a detailed review of Syrian cases. That involves eye scans, fingerprints and documents that are collected, then biographic security checks are carried out. More than 12,000 Syrian refugees were admitted to the United States through this process in 2016.

VANIER: The U.S. refugee ban has left countless people in limbo. CNN spoke to one Yazidi woman who is ready to board her flight from Iraq to the U.S.

HOWELL: But officials there told her she would not be allowed on the plane. Arwa Damon has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Talal and her husband, Yazidis were in Sindar when ISIS stormed to the area on a killing and kidnapping rampage. They barely escaped. For them, that was the end of any notion that they could build a future in Iraq. Talal is not her real name but she is afraid that by speaking out, she might ruin whatever chance remain to reach the United States. Despite it being the land of free speech.

TALAL, YAZIDI WOMAN (through translator): My dream was to go to America because it's the strongest country in the world. We feel that it's safe -- it's the safest country in the world. It has the strongest human rights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the protection of the nation from foreign terrorist entry.

[03:24:52] DAMON: But with one signature, that vision of America shattered. Talal says her husband work as a translator for U.S. military for years and applied for asylum under the special immigrant Visa program. It was granted and he arrived in America last summer. On Saturday, Talal was on her way to finally reunite with him.

YAZIDI WOMAN (through translator): I was about to get on the plane and they called my name. I went and they said, you can't board, you can't travel. I was shocked. I cried why? Why me?

DAMON: Talal was given this document from Homeland Security at the airport that basically tells her how she can put in an inquiry and figure out why she was denied boarding although that's pretty clear at this stage. What isn't clear is when she can apply again and what is she supposed to do next. So she and all the others were basically right now in a state of limbo.

She is hardly on her own. The temporary travel ban on seven Muslim- majority nations to the U.S. and the indefinite ban on Syrian refugees has left countless people reeling. Wondering how it is that the new leader of the so called "free world" can have so little compassion for their suffering.

YAZIDI WOMAN (through translator): My brain isn't working. I'm in shock. If I think of something, I start to cry. I'm not crying because I'm weak, but because I have small dreams. And I thought if I went to America, they would benefit from my small dreams. And I could make them come true there. And I could be safe.

DAMON: What's your message right now to President Trump?

YAZIDI WOMAN (through translator): My message is that, we don't hate President Trump. We don't hate anyone. We love the American people. Have mercy. We don't have mercy in our country.

DAMON: But mercy, even for those that have suffered the most does not seem to be on Trump's America first agenda. Arwa Damon, CNN Irbil, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWELL: There are more protest plan against Donald Trump's travel ban in just a few hours.

VANIER: Dozens of passengers were detained in New York, you'll hear from a man whose wife could be deported. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:42] VANIER: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Cyril Vanier.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell. Following the breaking news this hour, the response and reaction to the President of the United States travel ban.

VANIER: Part of the travel ban put in place by US President, Donald Trump has been temporarily stopped. A Federal Judge granted an emergency stay for citizens of 7 Muslim majority countries. Those who have a valid Visa and already are in the US or are in transit, on their way to the US will not be immediately deported.

HOWELL: And the response is coming in to this travel ban, they are coming in quickly, Iran calling the ban an insult saying its considering what action to take. Also, several colleges and universities in the United States have sent advisory emails to students and faculty because the ban could affect their travel in or out of the country. VANIER: One day after meeting with President Trump in Washington, Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa Maye is offering a dim view of the President's Executive Order. Theresa Maye says she does not agree with Mr. Trump's actions, she added that her government is reviewing the legality of the ban as it might affect UK citizens. And more protests against the travel ban are planned to start across the US in just a few hours. Hundreds of protesters took to a number of US airports on Saturday.

HOWELL: One of the protests at JFK airport in New York, that's where passengers get off and see the Statue of Liberty as their planes land. Our Rachel Crane filed a report earlier from there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here at terminal 4 at JFK, we know that 12 people were detained. We know that 2 of them, Iraqi men, they were uh, involved in a lawsuit that was filed today, both have been released. Also over at terminal 4 we know that about 7 people were detained. We had the opportunity to speak to some of the family members of those who were detained. One was the son of a 68 year old woman from Yemen, who uh was detained, she has diabetes. Her son was incredibly worried about her health and well being. He was unclear if she had her medication and he said he wasn't able to speak to her. Now she was granted a Greencard. Uh, but, yeah was, was detained. Now, we spoke to another gentleman who was here on a student visa, uh, getting a PHD in Biochemestry, his wife detained. She was uh, been granted an F2 Visa. He told us that she was set to get back on a plane to go to Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: She called me through the phone that's uh it was not hers and told me that uh she will be deported and while she was crying. I don't think that I will stay in the US anymore uh because of this kind of treatment, uh, I'm, I don't have any clear reason about the future about the treatments to the Iranian and other nationalities so mmm, I don't feel uh safe anymore to uh stay here in the US.

CRANE: There has been an incredible protest here unfolding all day and all night. We've seen people actually pouring out of a garage that was behind us, an incredibly peaceful protest, people making their voices heard despite the cold and we've seen children, we saw babies, people with homemade signs, even projectors, projecting on the side of the wall saying refugees we love you. Back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Rachel Crane reporting earlier from New York at JFK airport. Tech giants in the US are reacting to the President's travel ban in an email to his employees, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, said, "Apple does not support the ban" and he added this, "Apple is open, open to everyone, no matter where they come from, which language they speak, who they love or how they worship."

VANIER: Microsoft is run by Satya Nadella who immigrated to the US from India and in an email Nadella posted to his Linkedin, he said, "the company believes that immigration laws can and should protect the public without sacrificing people's freedom of expression or religion." It continues, "and we believe in the importance of protecting legitimate and law abiding refugees whose very lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings."

HOWELL: Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg said this, "We should also keep our doors open to refugees and those who need help. That's who we are", he says. And referring to the family of his wife, Priscilla Chen, Zuckerberg added this, "Had we turned away refugees a few decades ago, Priscilla's family wouldn't be here today."

VANIER: To the reaction in Australia now, the country says that President Trump will honor the refugee settlement deal agreed between the two countries last year. This was discussed during a phone call between Mr. Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull on Saturday.

HOWELL: That deal says that hundreds of asylum seekers held in offshore detention centers, that they will be moved to the United States. Mr. Turnbull saying uh this plan is a one off agreement and that will not be repeated.

VANIER: Moving on now a major security breach took place at an event attended by President Trump and his Vice President, Mike Pence on Thursday. An unauthorized person was able to infiltrate the Republican Congressional Retreat in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

HOWELL: In a letter obtained by CNN, the head of the event, said the woman claimed to be the spouse of an elected official. She was eventually escorted out but not before she passed through multiple security checkpoints. The event organizer says it's working with authorities to determine her identity. Switching now to weather, bitter cold temperatures continue to make life very hard for the thousands of refugees across Europe.

VANIER: Our Meteorologist, Julie Martin (ph?) joins us with a look at weather conditions there and across the globe.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VANIER: Alright, thank you very much, Julie Martin from the CNN International Weather Center, thanks a lot. Still ahead on CNN, Donald Trump phoned several foreign leaders, including Russian President, Vladamir Putin.

HOWELL: A call that many people are watching closely, wanting to know what came out of it, we'll talk about that as CNN NEWROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOWELL: Welcome back to CNN, following the breaking news out of New York, a Federal Judge there is temporarily stopping some of the effects of the travel ban put in place by the US President, Donald Trump.

VANIER: And the Emergency stay includes those who were already in the US or who were in transit on their way to the US provided they hold valid Visas. There have been protests in a number of US airports against Mr. Trump's Executive Order. That order bans people from seven countries from entering the US over the next three months. All of those countries are predominantly Muslim. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump also made a number of phone calls to foreign leaders on Saturday, and that includes a phone call to Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

HOWELL: All eyes were on that conversation. For more on what they talked about let's bring in our international correspondent, Ivan Watson, live with us in Moscow. Ivan, uh, so these leaders have both said favorable things about each other in the lead up to the President's win, uh, they finally got to speak by phone, what came out of the talk?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Uh, I think its pretty safe to say that uh we are starting to witness the beginning of warming of relations between Moscow and Washington, shortly after the outgoing Obama administration expelled uh at least 35 Russian Diplomats amid allegations of hacking, I mean, if you look at the statements coming both from the Kremlin and the White House, there are signs of that both of these leaders really want to improve relations. Take a look at uh a sentence from the White House statement, "The positive call was a significant start to improving the relationship between the United Nates, States rather and Russia that is need of repair. Uh, the Kremlin statement uh described uh a need to stabilize and develop Russian US cooperation on a constructive, equitable and mutually beneficial basis. Uh, one of the grounds for moving forward in what appears to be now a detente in Russian US relations is in cooperation on the issue of terrorism, uh, the US President, Donald Trump has made it clear repeatedly that he would like to work with Russia in combatting against ISIS but in addition the Kremlin talked about partnership in uh working on the Arab Israeli conflict in the Middle East in nuclear non proliferation and uh, on the Iranian Nuclear Program uh and uh in the Crimean Peninsula (ph?) so there seem to be a whole host of areas where both governments, both Presidents see that they could work together instead of working at odds with each other. George ...

HOWELL: Our Senior International Correspondent, Ivan Watson, live for us in Moscow following what seem to be warming relations, uh, between these two super powers, Ivan thank you for the report.

VANIER: And the US President also spoke on Saturday with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and with French President, Francois Hollande. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump called Mrs. Merkel the most important leader in Europe but he was extremely critical of her refugee policy. Officials say the two leaders discussed NATO and other topics during their call on Saturday.

HOWELL: Trump later spoke with Mr. Hollande who said that NATO is indispensable and that the Syrian crisis requires a political solution. The White House says President Trump renewed his commitment to NATO in both of these calls. The final round of primary voting has started this hour in France to decide the Socialist Party candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election. VANIER: Early indications are that surprise candidate, Benoit Hamon, the former Education Minister could beat former Prime Minister Manuel Vous (ph?). Former Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron (ph?) abandoned the race after finishing third, that was in the first round of voting and he urged his supporters to back Hamon. The winner faces a tough fight to keep the Socialist Party in power however, as the party has become deeply unpopular under the Presidency of Mr. Hollande.

And Ocean search and rescue operations are underway in Malaysia for a missing tourist boat.

HOWELL: The Catamaran left the dock Saturday morning in Eastern Malaysia. It was headed for a popular island in the South China Sea. 31 People are said to have been on board including 28 Chinese tourists celebrating the Lunar New Year.

VANIER: One of the greatest rivalries in Men's tennis is on the court now at the Australian Open. Roger Federer of Switzerland and Atman Rafael Nadal of Spain are going head to head in Melbourne for the fourth time in their storied career. As Nadal has won the three previous championships.

HOWELL: This is Nadal's 21st Grand Slam Final and his first since 2014 when he beat Novak Djokovic (ph?) in the French Open. For Federer it's the 28th Grand Slam Final and the 35th time that he's faced Nadal in a professional match. Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, a Syrian refugee has made a new life for himself in the United States.

VANIER: But he might not have been able to do it without Twitter. Stay with us.

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VANIER: Welcome back to our continuing breaking news coverage a Federal Judge is putting on pause, parts of the travel ban signed on Friday by US President, Donald Trump. The Emergency Stay covers travelers with valid Visas who are already in the US or who are in transit headed to the US.

HOWELL: And here's the thing, there have been several protests, several at US airports against this travel ban that order, uh that order bans people I should say from 7 majority Muslim countries from entering the US for the next 90 days. Universities across the US are trying to cope with this new travel ban.

VANIER: And we know that Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT have all issued advisory emails to their students and faculty about how they are dealing with the Executive Order.

HOWELL: The University of Michigan took that a step further refusing to disclose student's immigration information. The statement says this in part, "in accordance with Federal Law, the enforcement of immigration laws rests with the immigration and customs enforcement and customs and border protection. Campus police will not partner with federal, state or other local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration law except when required to do so by law. VANIER: Twitter Founder, Jack Dorsey is voicing his concerns about the travel ban, tweeting this, "The Executive Order's Humanitarian and economic impact is real and upsetting. We benefit from what refugees and immigrants bring to the US."

HOWELL: Our Laurie Segall has the exclusive story of Dorsey's visit to one of his newest customers, a refugee who opened a restaurant in America after fleeing the Syrian Civil War.

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LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Walk into Yasin's (ph?) Falafel House and you'll see the sign. It's a message of inclusiveness.

YASIN (ph?): We welcome everybody. Wherever you come from, whatever background, you are safe at Yasin's(ph?).

SEGALL: Yasin Teru (ph?) understands how important it is to feel welcome. In 2011 he fled Syria and came to the United States here to Knoxville, Tennessee as a refugee. He struggled to find work and to find a sense of community.

YASIN (ph?): Ok, so we, I have to create my own work with a very minimum cost and there was come like the idea to make sandwiches so I decided to give, to start a falafel sandwiches at our mosque and it started from there.

SEGALL: The sandwiches were so popular at the mosque that it spurred a business. But Yasin(ph?) soon faced another hurtle, accepting credit cards.

YASIN (ph?): For someone like me who doesn't have the perfect English to make contract working with Square was very clear and easy.

SEGALL: Fast forward a few years and his business is growing and today is a big day for Yasin (ph?). Friends, family, customers are all gathered to welcome a special guest. Jack Dorsey the Founder of both Twitter and Square, the payment system used by Yasin (ph?) and lots of businesses like his.

JACK DORSEY, CEO, TWITTER: Square has always stood for inclusivity and inclusion and when we started the company almost 8 years ago now, um, one of the things we found were that people were being blocked from participating in the economy because they couldn't accept credit cards because they couldn't go through a credit check or they were denied for whatever reason.

SEGALL: Yasin's (ph?) story is part of the film series produced by Square profiling business owner's who use its platform.

YASIN (ph?): This last year has been hard on me and my family. Its like are we still welcome here?

SEGALL: His story has never been more timely.

Donald Trump has essentially blocked Syrian refugees from coming into the United States. How do you feel when you see this?

YASIN (ph?): It's very sad but in the same times I think we have to talk a little bit positively. We have to change this ideas, we have to work more, show more love in this community and we are a sure we are going to get this love back to us.

SEGALL: Jack you are a tech founder in silicon valley which is a place where immigration has helped pave the way for some of the biggest companies, um, you know, do you worry that some of the immigration policies put forward will impact innovation?

DORSEY: We benefit from immigration, we benefit from diversity, we benefit from including more people because we see different perspectives and you know that the goal of the companies we build in San Francisco and New York and anywhere within this country is to have global impact and to have global impact you need to really understand the world and to understand the world you need to have people from all over the world inside your companies.

SEGALL: Yasin's (ph?) success has provided jobs for three other refugees like him. Is this ya know your version of the American dream?

YASIN (ph?): Oh yes, oh yes.

SEGALL: You believe in the American dream?

YASIN (ph?): Oh yes and I will keep believing on, its not only about business and economy, its about freedom, its about respect, if you work smart, he will get his dream and reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANIER: All right, thank you very much for watching CNN NEWSROOM, I am Cyril Vanier.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell, our breaking news coverage continues right after the break. You're watching CNN.