refugees using syrian passports and gunning down people. it's outrageous. we need be very careful until we have this under control. i agree with mr. trump, we need to take a serious second look. >> the government is not allowed, not allowed to follow the refugees once they're placed. they don't track them. they don't find out what they're up to or committing crime. here is another stat that blew my mind, we talk about syrian refugees, generally all refugees, take a guess how many refugees we accepted in the united states in the last year, in the last 12 months, 110,000 refugees. now, i think that's a number far higher than anyone who is watching right now thought. >> if you look at the number of syrian refew fu gees we're talking about 2,000 over the past few years. president obama said we could accept 10,000 syrian refugees in 2017. it's a far smaller number than canada who accepted 25,000, justin trudeau welcomed these refugees with open arms. was cheered and applauded by his country for doing so. the question is do we think that canada d

that's how most syrian arrivals describe their life in jordan.thorities give work permits to only a fraction of refugees. it's a sensitive issue, since unemployment in jordan is high and the economy is weak. ahmad el assaf is one of the lucky few. the 58 year old refugee from homs got a job as a street cleaner. he lives in mafraq in northern jordan, and each morning, he and his colleagues set off under the hot sun with brooms and carts. >> the kind of work doesn't matter to me. the important thing is that that i feel at peace. i can pay our rent and we can live our lives. >> ahmad earns 300 dinars a month, the equivalent of 370 euros, an average wage in jordan. but the money he earns comes from germany. the government i in berlin has given jordan fourteen million euros to provide and finance work for syrian refugees. it's an aid project based on a simple calculation. helping people in the middle east is cheaper than housing and supporting them inin germany. ahmad says he doesn't feel the german government is taking the easy way out. >> the aid ge

this is zaatari refugee camp in jordan, about seven miles from the syrian border. 80,000 syrian refugeesving in tiny, steel boxes as far as the eye can see. the camp run by the u.n. sprang out of the jordanian desert in 2012 as millions of refugees poured out of syria. it's now the largest syrian refugee camp in the middle east. >> gina kassem: every refugee here lives now in pre-fab housing. >> whitaker: gina kassem oversees the refugee resettlement program in the middle east and north africa for the u.s. state department. as of late 2016, the u.s. was processing an additional 21,000 syrian refugee applications for relocation to the united states. >> kassem: mostly we focus on victims of torture, survivors of violence, women-headed households, a lot of severe medical cases. >> whitaker: kassem told us each syrian refugee who makes it to the united states goes through a lengthy process of interviews and background checks. you know, there are many americans who don't trust government to fix the roads or run the schools. how can you convince them that this process is going to keep them saf

, about seven miles from the syrian border. 80,000 syrian refugees living in tiny steel boxes as fars the eye can see. the camp, run by the u.n., sprang out of the jordanian desert in 2012 as millions of refugees poured out of syria. it's now the largest syrian refugee camp in the middle east. >> every refugee here lives in a prefab housing. >> reporter: gina oversees the refugee resettlement program in the middle east and north africa for the u.s. state department. as of late 2016, the u.s. was processing an additional 21,000 syrian refugee applications for relocation to the united states. >> mostly we focus on victims of torture, survivors of violence, women headed households, a lot of severe medical cases. >> reporter: she told us each syrian refugee who makes it to the united states goes through a lengthy process of interviews and background checks. you know there are many americans that don't trust government to fix the roads or run schools. how can you convince them that this process is going to keep them safe? >> because they undergo so many steps of vetting, so many interview

but syrian applications c take longer. applications are then screened by several government agencies including the state department, the fbi, and the department of homeland security. hope land security then conducts a detailed review of syrian cases. that involves eye scans, fingerprints and documents that are collected. then biographic security collection are carried out. more than 12,000 syrian refrgs were admitted to the united states through this process in 2016. >>> the u.s. refugee ban has left countless people in limbo. cnn spoke to onia ziti woman ready to board her flight from iraq to the u.s. >> but officials there told her she would not be allowed on the plane. arwa damon has the story. >> reporter: da lal and her had husband were in sinjar when i was stormed through 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. da lal is not her real name but she is afraid that by speaking out, she might ruin whatever chance re

and here you have a multifaith group of doctors greeting syrians, and syrians are not taught good thingsabout israelis. >> well, they think that we are their enemies, and we're not. we are their neighbors. and, hopefully, the work that iris was fortunate to do will help them understand that we are not their enemies and we can live together in the future. >> and certainly you're proving that. >> i have to say that we are an apolitical ngo, and it's important for us because, as andy mentioned, we are working in 19 countries around the world in israaid. and for us, working together, jews and arabs, was a very -- first of all, it's very normal for us because we are used to doing it in israel, but also being there on the beaches created such a great connection with these people. and i have to say that some of them were surprised at the beginning. we are working with the flag of israel on our shirt. they were surprised, but they were so happy and thankful, and we received such warm reactions and hugs, and we are still in touch with many of them till today, with families that we helped. so, for

been committed by the syrian regime.a number of other violations and aommitted in idlib number of other provinces where there is presence of the syrian opposition groups. sarah: so is there any hope for these peace talks that were due to be held soon in kazakhstan? , the peacery honest talks that were being held in kazakhstan so far including orosition more between -- between the two brackets, opposition basically embraced by the regime, one that does not really represent the military groups on the ground, which come in other words, means that even if they agree to something in kazakhstan, it is not going to stop the war. it is not going to end the bloodshed in syria. so far, the military opposition groups who are in syria have suspended the participation and the kazakhstan negotiations because they have not seen the cease-fire being respected by the government side. until we really see a complete cease-fire, complete cessation of hostilities, as they call it in other terms -- unless we see that, i don't think military g

there's about 250,000 missing syrian passports, the syrian government selling credentials as a way toate revenue. and barack obama's homeland security secretary jeh johnson who did this country a great service said there's no vetting process in place right now that will assure americans that the deserving refugees will get here, but those who to want harm our countries will be kept out. we are a compassionate nation, steve, we've always reached out. and the syrian people need our help, keeping those people out of harm's way and keeping them in the region is a better idea because of what will happen when syria finally settles and the con sflikt over, it's going to be the syrian people who build their country back up. and if they're too far away, that just won't happen. >> let me ask you about what senator shaheen was just saying, you're talking about the refugee piece of that, let me come back to that, let many ask you about the other piece. that ban, that ban on immigration, that temporary ban from the seven muslim majority countries. and she's saying, the way she can't find a way to

the groups by dead and the syrian regime not abiding.ussia to get the assad regime to behave, comply and enforce the cessation of hostilities. if it is credible, a political agreement can happen. these groups are willing to go toa can happen. these groups are willing to go to a stunner, they signed, they said they were going and now we see the other side is not respecting any of that. we want russia to put pressure needed and it can do so, on iran and the syrian regime if it was a political settlement. i believe that russia today has an interest in finding and exit strategy through a political settlement. i would expect it will do so. —— astana. political settlement. i would expect it will do so. -- astana. have you and other negotiators who have aimed at the un in geneva, have you reached out with key russian officials? through the united nations we have contacts with eve ryo ne nations we have contacts with everyone involved in this crisis. with respect, i don't mean through the un truck. the financial times reported last month that so

the syrian national orchestra for arabic music was founded in damascus in 2003. but, after the outbreak of war in 2011, many of its members were forced to flee the country. our world follows four musicians — as they prepare for a ground—breaking series of concerts, reuniting orchestra members in exile, and those in syria, in the hope of changing perceptions of their war—torn nation. over ten years ago, a remarkable orchestra played in damascus. performing arabic music at the highest level. but when war broke now the 2011, some musicians were forced to flee syria. but since 2011, the country has been torn apart by a this is the story of an attempt to bring the orchestra back together, for a once—in—a—lifetime tour, to reunite those living in syria and as refugees. and try to change the way the world sees their war—torn nation. since the beginning of the war in syria, an estimated 9 million people have fled their homes in search of a new life. one of them is essam. he claimed asylum in america in 2013, after being invited to teach music in a university here. i watc

the boy is syrian. so is this fighter. 15 syrian patients of an israeli hospital.arkable because israel is the neighbor syrians have been taught to hate. this is the border with syria. syrian land and just a few miles down the road, a village where rebels are fighting government forces. in the past three years, more than 2,000 wounded syrians have crossed the border for treatment. and instead of stopping them, the israeli defense forces helped them, patching up wounds, sending the seriously ill or wounded to the hospital 18 miles away. >> we treated the men, we treated women, we treated children. every syrian close to the border is evacuated to our hospital and everyone that we treated exactly as we treated israelis. >> the patients hiding their faces, terrified of what would happen if the syrians knew they sought help in israel. >> this fighter says the syrian government planted bad things about israel in their minds. >> maybe our treatment may be helpful for building peace. >> the best treatment of all, the doctors hearsay, is to stop waging war. >> kelly cobiell

and said syrian rebels are a myth. assad government when the backing of a democrat from hawaii? she joins us live, next. you foundi'm a robot! cars.com rawr yeti and found a place to service it, too. ♪ jingle bells now when you're ready, you can sell your old car and find your new one all on cars.com you know us for shopping, and now we're there for every turn. cars.com my mmade a simple trip toonic the grocery storesis anything but simple. so i had an important conversation with my dermatologist about humira. he explained that humira works inside my body to target and help block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to my symptoms. in clinical trials, most adults taking humira were clear or almost clear, and many saw 75% and even 90% clearance in just 4 months. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or

and saidba syrian rebels are a myth.overnmenthe n the backing of a democrat from hawaii? what does the trump administration think of all thi this? congresswoman gabbard joins us next. zes stomach acid at the source. ♪ tum -tum -tum -tum smoothies! only from tums tax refund, you can get an advance on that refund? [zombie] an advance on my tax refund. [john] doesn't take brains to see the value in that. [zombie] ha! [john] arghh. [vo] you can get a refund advance of up to $1250 no interest at block. [john] get your taxes won. tawell, the only place youn, need go...oll? london's got the best of everything. cornwall's got the best of everything. sport sport nightlife nightlife (both) fashion adventure i'm tellin' ya, britain is the only place you really need go. expedia. everything you need to travel britain better. >> tucker: syrian president bashar al-assad has an unlikely defender, tulsi gabbard. and lebanon where she met assad, along with civilians and soldiers caught up in the conflict there. when she came back, she. de

my guest is bassma kodmani of the negotiating team of the syrian opposition. is it time for the moderate rebels to accept their de facto defeat? bassma kodmani, in paris, welcome to hardtalk. hello, stephen. thank you. it's a pleasure to have you on the programme. let me start with a question that comes directly from the new year. do you see 2017 bringing with it better prospects for an end to the conflict in syria than we have seen at any time in the previous, almost, six years? i do, carefully optimistic, but i do. i do hope, and we are working towards making 2017 the end of the disaster of the tragedy and the beginning of a political transition. that is what we are hoping for and the coming weeks will tell us whether we are moving in that direction but there is certainly a turning point and certainly something to build on at the moment with the new players that have asserted themselves, and i think there is space for diplomacy now if the signals coming out from moscow and from turkey as well as, very carefully, from tehran, if these signals are sincere, the

, the position of the syrian government and armed opposition group. dheepthika: bashar al-assad has called for the syrian opposition to lay down their weapons in exchange for amnesty. they have said they will not be discussing president bashar al-assad's future or other political dialogue. >> there are two issues that are to be discussed here. first, information or consolidation of the accord signed by turkey and russia concerning the cease-fire, and making the cease-fire cover all of syria. at the same time, taking care of the breaches that are orchestrated by the regime and iran. dheepthika: the astana peace talks are being touted as a task russian-turkish partnership. they were conducted for the first time -- conducted for the first time, joint airstrikes. genie: these talks on siri are different than others we have seen in the past. and for the first time, a military arm from the rebel movement is at the table. robert parsons has more. robert: it is the first time this has happened. it does several things. first of all, it tells us that the situat

syrian rebel groups have suspended peace talks. they say the government has repeatedly broken the four-day old truce. a public dustup between u.s. president-elect donond trump a d his fellow republicans. congress forced to backpedal on plans to dismantle a body investigating political misconduct. this after trump lasted to move on twitter. is this a sign of trouble to co me? we will speak to our correspondent in washington. another obstacle in britain's have to brexit as the ambassador to the eu resigns just months before the start of divorce negotiations. we will find out what this means for brexit. sarah: i am sarah harman. thanks for joining me. turkish police have made multiple arrests as they hunt for the gun man who opened fire on in istanbul nightclub on new year's, killing 39 people. the so-called islamic state has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they were carried out by a so-called soldier of the caliphate. we will bring you more on the investigation in just a moment. first, a government under pressure, and t

syrian rough geese are barred indefinitely. people holding certain visas will have to undergo in-person interviews in order to renew nene them. the average refugee application takes 18 to 24 months to process. the syrian a aptplications can take longer. the applications are screened by several government agencies, the state department, the fbi and the department of homeland security. homeland security conducts a detailed analysis and then buy graphic security checks are carried out. 12,000 syrian refugee were admit to the united states in 2016. >>> let's get the view from the middle east, in particular from turkey. let's bring in ben wedeman. >> joining us from the airport in istanbul turkey. have you seen aerp heard stories of people who have been denied entry into the united states? >> reporter: actually here outside the main entrance to the airport we have not run into anybody turned back. our producer did speak with a member of the company that deals with flights to the united states. and he told us since yesterday around 8

the groups abided by the ceasefire and the syrian regime is notabiding.sia to get the assad regime to behave, to comply, and enforce the cessation of hostilities. if it is credible, then a political negotiation can happen. so these groups are willing to go to astana — they signed, they said they were going, but now we see the other side is not respecting any of that. we need russia to put pressure needed, and it can do so, on iran and the syrian regime, if it was a political settlement. i personally believe that russia today has an interest in finding an exit strategy through a political settlement. i would expect it will do so. in an interview on and on. —— we have spoken a lot about the russians in this interview and i have never asked you directly... have you and other negotiators who have aimed your efforts mostly at the un track in geneva, have you reached out with key russian officials? through the united nations we have contacts with everyone involved in this crisis. with respect, i don't mean through the un track. the financial times reported last

in jordan across the syrian border there are over 600,000 syrian refugees. the backlash in the u.s., so many of them are desperate for the chance to go to america. through this doorway, we immediately discover a crush of humanity. refugee families already screened by the u.n. now waiting to be interviewed by the u.s. how many interviews? >> four interviews. actually, five. >> five interviews. so they come through here? >> yes. >> reporter: gina is with the u.s. state department. >> they're brought into a security screening area. >> reporter: for a vetting process that can last two years. we are taken to a hallway lined with small rooms and through the windows, we can see family after family being interviewed. how can you possibly learn everything about a family through an interview? >> i'd say the interviewers are very highly trained. they are trained to look at the documentation, but also for the credibility behind the applicant's story. >> when you say documentation, this is syria. they've been at war for years now. what kind of documentation do they have,

the syrians gave al-bakr clean clothing and took a photo of him.eanwhile, the police had published a wanted poster of al-bakr, also in arabic. mohammed and his friends saw it. > while mohammed hurried back to his apartment with a friend, sami and ahmed went to the police. finally when an officer there , recognized the photo she alerted the sek, germany's armed response unit. meanwhile, mohammed and his friend overpowered the sleeping al-bakr. >> we captured him, and he tried to escape. he said, 'i'll give you money, but let me go." he said he'd received a first payment of 10,000 euros and would get the rest after completing the operation. >> instead mohammed and his , friend sent a photo of the tied-up fugitive to ahmed and sami at the police station. al-bakr was attempting to escape his bonds. shortly before midnight, the sek stormed mohammed's apartment. germany's most-wanted man had been captured by his own countrymen. the sek brought al-bakr to leipzig prison. three days later, he was dead. and so al-bakr's contacts may remain unknown. islam re

what does that say about thousands and thousands of syrians.language and tone and rhetoric is inflammatory. this isn't the first time we have had various republican moves are going to kill people. we had bernie sanders saying you dial back obamacare you will kill people. right, mark? >> absolutely. more irresponsible talk that is purely politicizing what is an international humanitarian crisis. nations like saudi arabia haven't taken in a single refugee from their own region. but there is no criticism from the left in terms of those nations. that's where we need to be on refugee policies until we can set up a proper vetting system. it's a tragedy. liz: we have to leave it there. we are work on breaking news. we are awaiting trump's homeland security secretary yawn kelly. he's about to step out to the microphone. we have some congressmen taking to the microphone to talk about it. we have senator warner. we'll come to that presser as soon as it happens with john kelly. a growing number of companies are protesting president trump's temporary refug

more than 100,000 syrians have applied for asylum in germany since the war began. home to violinist susan, originally from aleppo. # hello, guten tag...#. she has settled into life in germany and teaches music to refugee children recently arrived from syria. since becoming a refugee, music has become even more important to susan. she joined the orchestra as a music student in damascus and hasn't played with them for four years. while music has helped susan, for some refugees it is simply a painful reminder of everything they have lost. this man is from northern syria. he played in the orchestra before fleeing to sweden with his young family in 2013. he is one of the foremost kanun players in syria and for him the upcoming concerts are an important way of preserving the country's culture. but rehearsing for the tour is difficult as he has to look after his young sons while his wife is at work. and he struggles to explain to his children why the family left syria. like his parents, the majority of the orchestra live in syria, where they still rehearse and perform in

it would be the syrians right that would be the bad guys?>> brooke, we all know the syrian community and united states of america have done a tremendous job. we are a very clean community we work by the law, 100% loyal americ american citizen. we swore to defend this country with honesty and stand behind it, but the immigration standpoint, we don't know the refugee situation, we are bringing them from the refugee camp to the yooipunited states america. we do not have background check while living in syria because we have no communication with the syrian government. people coming here, they will have the religious hate because the war in syria was built on religious hate, it's a religious conflict so the people coming here for sure one way or the other might have a religious ideology because they got hurt from it. that's why we don't want to see a conflict here, special from my homeland that the people coming from syria are progovernment and the people that may have been forced out of syria for whatever reason. >> this is so significant. i th

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. >> 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 am weak, but because i had 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. >> what's your message right now to president trump? >> 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. >> reporter: but mercy, even for those that have suffered the most, does not seem to be on trump's "america first" agenda. and poppy, there are also other concerns that come along with this. i was speaking to an iraqi friend of mine in the united states, and he was saying that he was worried that because of this potential culture of fear that is being created when

nawros and her family are syrian refugees.ouldn't be able to come to the u.s., or as she says, they wouldn't be able to make america better. >> my dream, i want to become a doctor and i want to make america better. >> reporter: her family fled war-torn syria three years ago, they've asked us not to use their name. life has been et cetera specially difficult for her 14-year-old brother allen who has cerebral palsy. for three years they lived in a refugee camp in georgia. with the help of georgia nonprofit new american pathways. >> we are actively proactively going to refugee ramps working with the united nations, setting up settlement centers and going through a careful process. >> reporter: mixon said refugees coming to the u.s. have legitimate concerns but she says the strict 18 to 24-month vetting process for refugees headed to the u.s. should temper any worries. >> we've been receiving refugees for the past 25 years. >> reporter: the mayor of georgia, half of them in the town are foreign-born. many are refugees who he says

the 18,000 who made it have the lucky syrian refugee. that would be a dream because it comes with a resettlement package, once they get here, they get some access to education and health care but not a complete resettlement package. that dream is now being -- if not taken off the table being made more difficult. >> i have been there. i have travelled to iraq. what struck me was that the people were stateless. they had no identification, no birth certificate. no pictures. no nothing. they whole identify had been stripped from them as they fled. >> that's the problem they face. one they arrive in a place like turkey and apply for resettlement, they are asked for all sorts of documentation which they don't have because they have to leave home in extreme situation. they were oftentimes running for their lives. it's unsettling. but that said, you have to figure out what the solution for syria and the europeans are struggling with this. a million have gone to europe to fry too find a home there. we are seeing this as a worldwide trend. in syri