Son of South Jersey kebab shop owners facing his own deportation fight

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The son of the Camden County couple behind the popular Mediterranean restaurant Jersey Kebab is now fighting his own immigration case. Ahead of a hearing later this month, Muhammed Emanet is gathering letters, records and community support to demonstrate the deep roots he has built in South Jersey.

“Whatever [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] has in their files, it’s not enough for me in their book and their perspective to stay in this country,” he said.

Muhammed Emanet, who came to the U.S. with his parents — Celal and Emine Emanet — when he was a child, said he grew up in Somerdale and became a familiar face in Collingswood, Haddonfield and Haddon Heights while playing youth sports.

He is hoping letters of support from the community can bolster his case.

“If other people’s perspective can opinionate this idea and change how they feel about me on paper, that’s kind of what we need right now,” Muhammed Emanet said.

The Department of Homeland Security and the U.S.  Citizenship and Immigration Services could not be reached for comment.

‘I was 15, dude.’

Muhammed Emanet said his case started in 2020 when two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers showed up to his family’s house, similar to when his parents were detained five years later.

“My mom woke me up because I’m the only male at the home at the time,” he said. “She’s like, ‘There’s two guys outside … I can see they have guns on their hips … they dress like regular guys.’”

After assuring his mom that he didn’t do anything, he answered the door. The officers started to ask three questions.

“They’re like, ‘What is your status in America?’ I’m like, ‘Oh snap.’ I shut the door behind me. I locked it. I was like, ‘Mom, don’t come out here,’” he said.

Muhammed Emanet eventually informed the officers that his green card status has been pending since 2016.

“You can go into [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] website to this day, still put in that case number and the case will come up saying pending from 2016,” he said.

But the officers informed Muhammed Emanet that their records show his visa ended and his green card case was denied in 2014, when he was still a teenager.

“I was 15, dude. I was a freshman in high school,” he said, adding that his green card case was still pending at the time. “Imagine that status after that visa is expired, at 15 years old, that puts you in illegal alien status.”

The deportation proceedings complicated Muhammed Emanet’s green card application through his marriage to an American citizen, with whom he has two young children. On June 3, he received a Notice of Intent to Deny from federal immigration officials, indicating they will seek to reject his application to adjust his status to lawful permanent resident.

‘We want to stay here. We did everything.’

Muhammed Emanet’s case has exacerbated his family’s situation that began more than a year ago when his parents were taken into custody by ICE officers amid the Trump administration’s crackdown.

Members of the Haddon Township community and Camden County officials rallied to support the Emanet family when Celal and Emine were detained last year. The Emanets came to the U.S. legally from Turkey in 2008 on religious worker visas with their first two children and applied for their green cards before their status expired. Their application has been in limbo since 2016, they said.

Celal Emanet described the situation as frustrating. His next court proceeding is scheduled for Dec. 6, 2026. His wife, Emine, has a proceeding scheduled for April 2027. He has also been more cautious since he and his wife were detained last year, despite assurances from his attorney that he is safe.

“When I wake up every day, I still have same questions over and over and over again because I see sometimes ICE officers, they arrest people on the street,” he said. “I’m still scared because if something happen you cannot prove yourself, especially when they take you to detention center.”

Celal Emanet said returning to Turkey would be problematic. In addition to fears of getting in trouble over his view of the current Turkish government, he is also concerned for his two youngest children, one of whom is autistic, who were American-born.

“They have no idea about Turkey. I cannot take them to Turkey,” he said. “Totally different culture, totally different lifestyle, everything.

Muhammed Emanet and Celal Emanet have expressed frustration about the status of their cases, saying that they have done everything required of them to show they are worthy of staying in the country.

“They’re telling me that the evidence they have on me is basically not enough for them to overlook the fact that I’m married to an American citizen, that I have American citizen children, that I have a successful running business, that I’m a fabric in our community,” Muhammed Emanet said.

“I belong here. We want to stay here. We did everything our best,” Celal Emanet said. “I don’t have any criminal record. All my family, they don’t have any criminal record, nothing. We have very clean life.”

The business grows despite uncertainty

The lease on the original Jersey Kebab location in Haddon Township was expiring, prompting a move to a larger location down the street in Collingswood, the family said. The new restaurant will allow them to serve more people — 200 tables versus four — and offer different menu options, including more Turkish dips and an “American Mediterranean remix,”  along with ice cream and water ice.

“Anything that the old pop shop, that comfort food … I wanted to keep that same concept but bring our own Turkish twist into it,” said Muhammad Emanet.

Though the possibility of being deported at any time is taking a toll on his family, Muhammed Emanet and his father said they are doing their best not to think about their pending cases.

“All I can do is just get up, get dressed and go to work and mind my own business because it’s not in my hands,” Muhammed Emanet said. “I’ve done every single possible way to be the best person I could be to receive this green card.”

Celal Emanet said he is focused on making sure his business is successful.

“Believe me, restaurant business is tough business because we have to take care of each of our customers as our guests, part of the family,” he said.

This story will be updated.