Iranian Americans feel stuck, confused, afraid of travel ban

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on travelers and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries (all times Eastern): 12:30 p.m. Vice President Mike Pence is calling a federal court order declining to reinstate President Donald Trump's ban as "frustrating," describing it as inconsistent and unconstitutional. Pence tells "Fox News Sunday" that the order from a federal judge in Seattle was wrongly decided, noting that a judge in Boston had earlier come to a different conclusion in initially allowing the ban to stand. Pence contends that "it's quite clear the president has the ability to decide who has access to this country." He says the administration intends to "move very quickly" and will use "all legal means to stay that order." Pence says quick action is needed so Trump can take the action needed "to protect our country." 8 a.m. An Iranian researcher who was prevented from boarding a flight to the U.S. last week because of President Donald Trump's travel ban on certain Muslim-majority countries has checked in on an Emirates Airline flight in Italy headed for New York. Twenty-nine-year-old Nima Enayati said check in at the Milan airport Sunday went smoothly. But because of disruptions and confusion caused by Trump's executive order, an airport desk employee told him "she personally would be scared to go to the United States now." He said he wasn't worried, though, and will get to New York on Sunday, the day before a federal court hearing on the Trump administration's appeal of a judge's order blocking the ban. Enayati has a visa to conduct research on robotic surgery at Stanford University in California. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in Tehran, and a master's degree from the Milan Polytechnic, where he is working on his doctorate. ___ 7:30 a.m. Cairo airport officials say a total of 33 U.S.-bound migrants have boarded flights on their way to the United States, taking advantage of a U.S. court's decision to block President Donald Trump's travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim majority nations. They said the 33 came from Yemen, Syria and Iraq and were on flights Sunday to New York's JFK airport as well as Istanbul, Frankfurt and Paris where they will then fly to the United States. The officials said the 33 had not previously tried to travel to the United States and been turned back, but rather they are migrants who are rushing to take advantage of the window offered by the court ruling. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. ___ 7 a.m. Lebanon's National News Agency is reporting that airlines operating out of Beirut international airport have begun allowing residents of the seven majority Muslim countries affected by President Donald Trump's travel ban to board flights heading to the United States. The U.S. State Department reinstated visas Saturday of those travelers affected by Trump's executive order after a federal judge in Seattle blocked the ban. Beirut has no direct flights to the U.S. so travelers usually head to Europe before their final destination. The news agency said Syrian families left Beirut on Sunday; it did not provide a figure. The judge on Sunday rejected the Trump administration's request for an immediate reinstatement of the president's executive order. Formal arguments in the case begin Monday. ___ 5 a.m. Iranian media are saying the country has lifted a ban on U.S. wrestlers, allowing them to take part in the Freestyle World Cup later this month in the Iranian city of Kermanshah. The Sunday report by the semi-official Fars news agency quotes Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying that the ban was lifted after the "discriminative restrictions" on Iranian nationals traveling to the U.S. was suspended by a U.S. federal judge. The wrestlers were originally banned from the Feb. 16-17 competition after President Donald Trump temporarily suspended travel from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran. The Trump administration is now appealing to reinstate the travel ban. On Sunday, a judge in San Francisco rejected the government's request for an immediate reinstatement. Formal arguments in the case begin on Monday.

The Latest: Pence calls federal judge's order 'frustrating'