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US: Kurdish immigrant Ibrahim Parlak
considers move to Canada
24.9.2010
By Lou Mumford, Southbend Tribune |
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Michigan businessman is considering a move to Canada
after troubles with American immigration officials.
September 24, 2010
HARBERT, Mich.,— Next stop, Canada?
Ibrahim Parlak at least wants to explore the
possibility, if he's indeed forced to leave the
country as a judge has ordered. But first, the
Kurdish immigrant and Harbert restaurateur needs the
cooperation of the United States government, and
thus far he's been unable to get it.
This week, Parlak, 48, expressed more frustration
with what he has termed his “life in limbo” in the
United States. The subject of an immigration judge's
2004 order that he be deported to Turkey, he has
fought the decision ever since only to be turned
back at every stop.
In August, he confirmed the U.S. Supreme Court had
declined to hear his latest appeal, ending his legal
options except for a private bill that's still
pending in Congress.
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Michigan businessman Ibrahim Parlak is considering a
move to Canada after troubles with American
immigration officials. Photo: Tribune File Photo |
Parlak said then that
he'd prefer Turkey to the restrictive “order of
supervision” placed on him by the Department of
Homeland Security.
“Up until this point, I have had enough strength to
live with it. But no more,” he said then. “I can go
back to Turkey. I did it before. I'm not afraid of
it. I can do it one more time.”
On Wednesday, Parlak once again lashed out at the
DHS and said if Turkey is unwilling to accept him,
as he expects, he'd like to explore the possibility
of living in a different country such as Canada.
Such residency would be preferable, he said, to his
restrictions in the United States that include
remaining at his Harbert area home on certain
Sundays every month so he can answer his phone when
the DHS calls.
When those calls arrive, he has just three minutes
to call back if he doesn't answer, he said. He was
infuriated Sunday, he said, when the call came in at
6 a.m.
“I own a restaurant (the Cafe Gulistan). I work
until after 1 a.m., so what do they think?” he said.
“I was asleep (when the phone rang). I didn't hear
it. When I called back, they said I was five minutes
late. That's harassment.”
Rather than continue adhering to the Sunday
telephone calls, travel restrictions and regular
trips to Detroit to check in with DHS officials,
Parlak said he's willing to give up the Cafe
Gulistan and move to a different country. He
believes he'd prefer Canada, he said, if he's given
his choice.
“My daughter, Livia (Gazzolo, 13), is willing to
take a chance with me, if I find someplace to go.
She and her mother (Michele Gazzolo) are willing to
move but the government won't cooperate. They won't
issue something temporary so I can cross the
border,” he said.
“I want to look into Canada. It's close by, and
friends could come visit like ... it was just
another state in the United States.”
In answer to Parlak's plea, Khaalid Walls, public
affairs officer for U.S. Immigration & Customs
Enforcement, released the following statement:
“Mr. Parlak has been ordered removed by an
immigration judge. There is a stay of removal in
place based on a private bill. Mr. Parlak remains on
an Order of Supervision, free from custody, and
continues to be monitored by ICE pending his removal
from the United States. As a condition of his Order
of Supervision, Mr. Parlak is restricted from any
travel outside Michigan without permission from
ICE.”
Asked if he had contacted the offices of U.S. Rep.
Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, or U.S. Sen. Carl Levin,
D-Mich., regarding his request to enter Canada to
determine if it would suit his needs,www.ekurd.netParlak
said he had but it didn't sound as if they could
help. It was Upton and Levin who introduced the
private bill that has allowed Parlak to remain in
the United States.
Last spring, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano granted
Parlak a renewable two-year deferment action on his
deportation order that prevents him from being
deported over the period as long as he adheres to
his order of supervision. Parlak said he views the
softened stance as an indication he's no longer
viewed as a threat.
“If they're willing to give me two years to be here,
then they're not afraid to have me in the United
States. So why can't they just get rid of it?” he
said of the order and its restrictions.
Granted asylum in 1992, Parlak was an advocate for
Kurdish rights in Turkey, leading to his arrest for
separatism and a year and a half in prison that
included a roughly three-week period of torture. He
apparently has been a model citizen in the United
States, but, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks, he was arrested for allegedly
failing to disclose his arrest in Turkey. The
deportation order followed and was upheld last year
in a 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati.
Parlak said he thought the government's case might
be dropped after Barack Obama was elected president
but he's no longer hopeful.
“More and more, it looks like the country will do
nothing, even with the new administration,” he said.
“I had hopes but, so far, nothing.”
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
southbendtribune com
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