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COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. — <\/span>The shawarma, falafel wraps and baklava at Jersey Kebab are great, but many of its patrons are also there these days for a side of protest.<\/p>\n A New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia has rallied around the restaurant’s Turkish owners since federal officers detained the couple last February because they say their visas had expired. <\/p>\n In fact, business has been so good since Celal and Emine Emanet were picked up early in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown that they have moved to a bigger space in the next town over. Their regulars don’t seem to mind.<\/p>\n Celal Emanet, 52, first came to the U.S. in 2000 to learn English while he pursued his doctorate in Islamic history at a Turkish university. He returned in 2008 to serve as an imam at a southern New Jersey mosque, bringing Emine and their first two children came, too. Two more would be born in the U.S.<\/p>\n Before long, Celal had an additional business of delivering bread to diners. They applied for permanent residency and believed they were on their way to receiving green cards.<\/p>\n When the COVID-19 pandemic began and the delivery trucks were idled, Celal and Emine, who had both worked in restaurants in Turkey, opened Jersey Kebab in Haddon Township. Business was strong from the start.<\/p>\n On Feb. 25, U.S. marshals and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested the couple at the restaurant. Celal was sent home with an ankle monitor, but Emine, now 47, was moved to a detention facility more than an hour’s drive away and held there for 15 days.<\/p>\n With its main cook in detention and the family in crisis, the shop closed temporarily.<\/p>\n Although the area is heavily Democratic, the arrests of the Emanets signaled to many locals that immigration enforcement during President Donald Trump’s second term wouldn’t stop at going after people with criminal backgrounds who are in the U.S. illegally.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were not dangerous people \u2014 not the type of people we were told on TV they were looking to remove from our country,\u201d Haddon Township Mayor Randy Teague said.<\/p>\n Supporters organized a vigil and raised $300,000 that kept the family and business afloat while the shop was closed \u2014 and paid legal bills. Members of Congress helped, and hundreds of customers wrote letters of support.<\/p>\n As news of the family\u2019s ordeal spread, customers new and old began packing the restaurant. The family moved it late last year to a bigger space down busy Haddon Avenue in Collingswood.<\/p>\n They added a breakfast menu and for the first time needed to hire servers besides their son Muhammed. <\/p>\n The location changed, but the restaurant still features a sign in the window offering free meals to people in need. That\u2019s honoring a Muslim value, to care for \u201canybody who has less than us,\u201d Muhammed said.<\/p>\n Judy Kubit and Linda Rey, two friends from the nearby communities of Medford and Columbus, respectively, said they came to Haddon Township last year for an anti-Trump \u201cNo Kings\u201d rally and ate a post-protest lunch at the kebab shop.<\/p>\n \u201cWe thought, we have to go in just to show our solidarity for the whole issue,\u201d Kubit said.<\/p>\n Last month, with the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis dominating the headlines, they were at the new location for lunch.<\/p>\n The Emanets desperately want to stay in the U.S., where they’ve built a life and raised their family.<\/p>\n Celal has a deportation hearing in March, and Emine and Muhammed will also have hearings eventually.<\/p>\n Celal said moving back to Turkey would be bad for his younger children. They don’t speak Turkish, and one is autistic and needs the help available in the U.S.<\/p>\n Also, he\u2019d be worried about his own safety because of his academic articles. \u201cI am in opposition to the Turkish government<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cIf they deport me, I am going to get very big problems.\u201d<\/p>\n The groundswell of support has shown the family they’re not alone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re kind of fighting for our right to stay the country,\u201d Muhammed Emanet said, \u201cwhile still having amazing support from the community behind us. So we\u2019re all in it together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n