New Jersey leaders rally around Haddon Township restaurant owners arrested by ICE
Two days after Celal Emanet and his wife, Emine, were detained by immigration officials at their Haddon Township restaurant, Jersey Kebab, he's waiting for answers.
While Celal Emanet was released Tuesday evening with an ankle monitor, he says his wife remains held in a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
"I hope, fingers crossed, we're gonna get some good news from my lawyer," Celal Emanet said Thursday afternoon.
He said his wife is scheduled to have a bail hearing in three weeks, and they're working to get that moved up and have her return home. But the father of four said that explaining Emine's absence to one of his children, who has autism, has been a challenge.
"I told him, 'Your mom, she's at the camp with her friends.' I made up some story," Celal Emanet said.
In the days since ICE agents arrested the Emanets, the Haddon Township community has rallied around the family. On Thursday, people were taping dozens of paper hearts to the Jersey Kebab windows with messages of support.
"Literally shower these people with love ... so that everyone driving by sees the support," Gretchen Seibert from Collingswood said.
"They're good folk, and our country's better than this," Lori Keene said.
Local leaders speak out
The Emanets now have the support of local leaders as well.
"What happened to Celal and Emine is outrageous. And here in Camden County, we take it as a personal attack on all of us," Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said.
On Thursday, a group of local mayors and Camden County commissioners gathered outside the restaurant to throw their support behind the family. The lawmakers railed against the arrests and said the couple embodies the American dream.
"We couldn't ask for better people in our community, better people to have a business in our community," Haddon Township Mayor Randy Teague said.
"This family is a family that embodies the very best of Camden County. And now they're torn apart by this broken immigration system," Cappelli said.
The American immigration system was a particular focus for the lawmakers. The group referenced the bipartisan immigration deal reached by the U.S. Senate in early 2024 that President Trump, a candidate at the time, nixed.
CBS News Philadelphia has continued to reach out to ICE officials for information on Tuesday's operation at the Jersey Kebab restaurant. So far, we have not heard back.
Focus on immigration system
The Emanet family says they came to the United States from Turkey legally in 2008. The family says they have since applied for green cards, but their applications have been pending since 2016.
While local leaders acknowledge there is little they can do to fix that on their own, they did vow to push officials in Washington to act.
"Contacting every one of our federal representatives in the state of New Jersey. We'll be sending a letter to the White House for whatever that's worth and using whatever resources we have to assist this family," Cappelli said.
While federal lawmakers were absent from Thursday's gathering, representatives from Sen. Cory Booker's office and Rep. Donald Norcross's office attended.
Norcross released a statement saying, "By all accounts, it appears as though Celal and Emine are upstanding members of our community who came to the United States legally and took every measure necessary to ensure they can remain living here with legal status. We must create an immigration system that stays true to our American values. My office is in direct contact with the family, and we are reaching out to the appropriate federal agencies."
"They needed to get some facts from Muhammed [Celal and Emine Emanet's son] and the family, and they're going to do whatever they can. What that is, I think they're still going through that process," Teague said.
State lawmakers are weighing in as well.
In a statement, New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald and Assemblywoman Melina Kane, both Democrats who represent the area, said they "strongly condemn the recent ICE raid ... which has instilled fear and distress within our community." The statement says in part, "While we all agree that the most violent criminals who are here illegally should be removed from our country, the Emanet family does not meet this standard."
Meanwhile, the Emanet family continues to speak with their lawyer and wait for word on when Emine Emanet will be released from custody. But Celal Emanet said the outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming, saying he's received hundreds of texts, calls and social media messages.
"We touched their hearts with our food or our love," he said, "because we share everything."
