A Federal Court judge has granted an emergency stay to allow people who landed in the US with valid visas to temporarily remain in the country.
As many as 200 people had been detained, despite having valid visas, after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning refugees and people from seven mainly Muslim countries from entering the US.
US human rights groups, including American Civil Liberties, immediately filed a suit against the detention of those people.
Reuters quoted a Homeland Security officer who said 109 travellers had been denied entry into the US in the first 23 hours of the executive order.
The officer said the department had recommended air carriers deny boarding to another 173 passengers before they boarded the aircraft.
The order would help protect Americans from terrorist attacks, the president said.
More to come