Michigan restaurant owner celebrates deportation deferral

HARBERT, Mich. (AP) - A southwest Michigan restaurant owner who's originally from Turkey is celebrating a one-year deferral of his deportation by the U.S. government.

Ibrahim Parlak and numerous supporters gathered Wednesday at his restaurant, Café Gulistan, in Harbert to mark the Kurdish New Year and to celebrate the deferral, The Kalamazoo Gazette (http://bit.ly/1MVJgAj ) reported. U.S. Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois were among those in attendance who pledged to continue seeking a solution that will allow Parlak to remain in the country permanently.

"I really wanted to be here with his support group," Schakowsky said. "A lot of my friends are part of it ... They know Ibrahim and love Ibrahim.

Parlak has won multiple deportation deferrals, but efforts to have him sent back to Turkey were renewed in December as his latest deferral was set to expire.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security later granted a 90-day extension of his deferral through March 22. Immigration officials last week granted him the one-year deferral.

The latest ordeal is only part of Parlak's ongoing saga of seeking to remain in the U.S. permanently.

In 1991, Parlak immigrated to the U.S. after he left Turkey, where he was convicted of supporting the Kurdish separatist movement. In 1992, he was granted asylum in the U.S., but immigration officials began their efforts to deport him in 2004 because of his previous ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which was classified as a terrorist group by the U.S. Department of State in 1997.

Parlak was arrested in 2004 and jailed for 10 months until his release was ordered by a federal judge.

In December, as Parlak's latest deportation deferral was set to expire, his attorney filed a motion with the Board of Immigration Appeals seeking to have Parlak's case reopened and re-examined.

The attorney and others argue that Parlak would likely be tortured or killed if he's sent back to Turkey.

Schakowsky and Upton believe the most recent one-year deferral will give them time to find a solution that will allow Parlak to stay in the U.S.

Parlak said he's thankful for the support he has received from people who want to help him.

"So many good people circled me," he said. "I got the best of America and I want to be able to give my best to America."

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Information from: Kalamazoo Gazette, http://www.mlive.com/kalamazoo