More than a year after immigration officials arrested the owners of a popular South Jersey restaurant, their son now faces deportation.

Muhammed Emanet, whose parents, Emine and Celal Emanet, own Jersey Kebab, is expected to plead his case in court Thursday to remain in the United States after federal immigration officials issued a notice of intent to deny his green card application.

“We have a saying in Turkey that a Turkish man will push his feelings so far deep down that if you tickle his feet, he might begin crying. It’s stuff that I’ve dealt with since I was a teenager and even though I’m at the end of it, now it feels surreal. It’s like that finish line. I’m never gonna be able to achieve it, but it is right there,” he said.

He said his path toward a permanent immigration status has been a long and complicated one.

Back in 2020, he was picked up by ICE at their family home because his visa had expired in 2014, when he was a teen. This put him in a six-year-long deportation case, which lasted through his parents’ detentions last year.

However, that deportation case was terminated earlier this year.

Muhammed said through his American citizen wife, he filed for a green card in 2022 and was told it was approved.

“Someone like me who’s already had their green card status approved and there is no deportation order anymore, I would think that my application for adjustment of status would automatically be approved,” Muhammed said.

Muhammed Emanet’s 30-day green card is set to expire tomorrow. He has lived in the United States since he was 12-years-old. NBC10 spoke to Emanet.

But in early June, he said he received a notice of intent to deny from immigration officials, and was summoned to court on July 2.

“It’s very unusual that a young man who entered with a visa married to a US citizen and does not have a criminal record would be denied and placed in this situation,” said Renata Castro, immigration attorney and founder of Immigration Law Firm “USA 4 All.”

Further complicating matters is a May U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo that directs officers to consider violations of immigration law as a negative factor and could require some people seeking permanent residency to leave the United States while their applications are processed.

Muhammed fears that if he gets denied on Thursday, he would have to go back to Turkey, a country he left when he was 9 years old.

“If the application is denied, it would make me restart the entire process, adjusting the status over. If that court case starts again that clause of people now adjusting status would apply to me, making me go back to Turkey,” he said.

Castro said it’s more likely his fight will continue through the courts.

“They would have legal recourse through lawsuits and federal courts,” she said.

In the meantime, Muhammed will continue working at his family business and fighting to stay in the country he loves.

“It makes me feel even more patriotic because I am actually giving a fight for my chance to stay in America. We believe in the American dream. We believe immigrants bring the best of themselves to America. That’s what makes America great,” he said.

This is not the first time the Emanets are fighting deportation.

In February 2025, the Emanet family rallied massive community support after Emine and Celal Emanet were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for overstaying their visa.

“During the investigation, ICE administratively arrested two Turkish citizens, Emine and Celal Emanet, who are present in the United States illegally. ICE authority under Title 8 of the U.S. Code enables the agency to investigate and enforce immigration laws, particularly in cases where immigration violations intersect with national security, public safety and transnational crime,” the ICE spokesperson wrote in a statement on Friday, Feb. 28. “The Emanets were served a notice to appear before an immigration judge and place in removal proceedings.”

Celal was sent home with an ankle monitor, but Emine was moved to a detention facility more than an hour’s drive away and held there for 15 days.

To this day, the husband and wife are still in legal limbo — with cases coming up in December and April.

NBC10 contacted UCSIS for comment on Muhammed’s case, and we are still waiting to hear back.