A judge has ruled in favor of a Berrien County restaurant owner fighting deportation from the United States. The office of Congressman Fred Upton issued a statement Tuesday night, saying Ibrahim Parlak’s application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture has been granted. Parlak, a Kurdish immigrant who owns Cafe Gulistan in Harbert, has been facing possible deportation for years. Congressman Upton has long been a Parlak supporter, repeatedly introducing legislation to stall Parlak’s deportation. Upton’s office tells us an immigration judge ruled Tuesday Parlak will not be deported. Upton writes, “Justice has prevailed,” adding, “supporters can begin to rest easy as we’re hopefully turning the page on this chapter for good and finally done wasting taxpayer dollars.” He offers to help Parlak in any way he can moving forward, and calls Parlak a “fantastic father, local business owner, and friend to many families here in Southwest Michigan.” Parlak was granted political asylum in the U.S. from his native Turkey in the 1990s, but things changed when the U.S. State Department declared a group he was affiliated with in Turkey, the PKK, to be a terrorist organization. He’s been fighting to stay in the U.S. ever since. He feared he would be tortured or worse if sent back to Turkey.. ...Read Full Story