New Jersey
NJ couple to reopen restaurant more than a month after being detained by ICE
The owners of a New Jersey restaurant held a community celebration and are set to officially reopen their business more than a month after they were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
On Sunday, March 30, 2025, Emine and Celal Emanet held a celebration in Haddon Township, New Jersey, and served food to show their gratitude for their community’s support and to also mark the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.
“We are a small business,” Emine Emanet said. “You know everywhere is small. But we have a big heart for all of everybody.”
The couple’s restaurant, Jersey Kebab, officially reopens on Tuesday, April 1, 2025.
“I’ve been missing them,” Steve Barton, a Haddon Township resident, told NBC10. “They’ve been sorely missed throughout this entire ordeal.”
The restaurant – located on 150 Haddon Avenue – has been closed since Feb. 25, 2025, when ICE officers raided the business and arrested Emine and Celal Emanet. An ICE spokesperson said the two Turkish citizens were in the United States illegally. While Celal Emanet was released from custody with an ankle monitor, Emine Emanet remained in custody at an ICE detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, for two weeks.
Immigration attorney Joseph Best told NBC10 the couple moved to the United States from Turkey in 2008 on a religious visa. According to Camden County officials, Celal Emanet applied for a green card before the visa expired. Emanet said his application was denied three times and the couple has been in limbo since 2016.
During Emine Emanet’s detainment, the couple received support from both New Jersey leaders as well as community members. During a press conference in late February after their arrest, Haddon Township Mayor Randall Teague described the couple’s restaurant as a “pillar” in the community.
“We consider this situation maybe somewhat different than some of the other ones that we hear on TV where there’s criminals and rapists and so forth coming into our country,” Mayor Teague said. “They came in here legally and they’re trying to stay here legally.”
Teague also said the family has participated in Toys for Tots drives and organized food drives that have “left a lasting impact” on the area.
The couple’s arrest occurred amid a nationwide push from President Donald Trump’s administration to detain immigrants who entered the United States without the proper documents.
“This family is a family that embodies the very best of Camden County. And now they’re torn apart by this broken immigration system,” Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said in February. “It is time to stand up for good people. It is time to stand up for humanity. These folks do not deserve this. These folks do not deserve this. Fix the immigration system and let’s fix it now.”
Haddon Township residents also donated more than $327,000 to a GoFundMe in support of the family.
On Tuesday, March 11, a judge set a $7500 bond for Emine Emanet’s release. She was released and reunited with her family the next day after the nonprofit Envision Freedom Fund successfully posted the bond.
Emine Emanet and her son Muhammed Emanet during Sunday’s community celebration
While the family is back in business, their legal battle continues.
“We have to prove ourselves,” Celal Emanet said on Sunday. “We are here. We have business. We’re regular people. We don’t have a criminal record. We pay our taxes so I hope they are going to accept it.”
Community members who attended Sunday’s celebration said they will continue to support them.
“They never let us down,” Barton said. “We are not going to let them down.”
The couple’s next court date is scheduled for the end of May 2025.
New Jersey
Wrong-way driver charged in I-80 crash that injured N.J. State Police trooper
An alleged drunk, wrong-way driver was arrested following a crash on Interstate 80 in Warren County, officials said.
Robert Felegi was driving a pickup truck west in the eastbound lanes in Knowlton when he crashed head-on into a New Jersey State Trooper’s vehicle near milepost 1.4 around midnight Tuesday, State Police said.
The trooper had emergency lights and sirens activated while trying to alert motorists of a hazard ahead, authorities said.
The trooper suffered minor injuries, while Felegi was not hurt.
Felegi, 67, of Middleport, Pennsylvania, was charged with assault by auto and driving under the influence.
He was brought to the Warren County jail ahead of a detention hearing. An attorney for Felegi is not listed in court records.
investigation, and no additional information is available.
New Jersey
NJ casino workers continue push to end smoking loophole
TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) — New Jersey casino workers, who are pushing to permanently ban smoking in their workplaces, held a rally in Trenton on Monday.
A hearing was held to discuss a lawsuit that aims to close the smoking loophole in the Garden State.
For years, casino workers have been pursuing protections against secondhand smoke in their workplaces.
RELATED | Judge allows smoking to continue in Atlantic City casinos, dealing blow to workers
New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act largely bans indoor smoking, but casinos have a long-standing exemption.
The lawsuit filed last April by the United Auto Workers, which represents dealers at the Bally’s, Caesars and Tropicana casinos.
In August 2024, a judge ruled in favor of the casinos to allow smoking to continue.
“Casino workers are expected to clock in to work every day despite inevitably facing a toxic environment that could cause countless health issues, including cancer, heart disease, and asthma,” said Nancy Erika Smith, the lawyer representing Casino Employees Against Smoking Effects (CEASE) and the UAW on Monday.
“We’re asking the court to find the exemption in New Jersey’s Smoke-Free Air Act unconstitutional and void it immediately. We hope this case will serve as a precedent for casinos across the country to close their smoking loopholes and stop poisoning their workers,” added Smith.
The casinos have warned that thousands of jobs and millions in gambling revenue and taxes could be lost if smoking was banned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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New Jersey
11-Vehicle Crash Closes Turnpike, College Student Abducted: NJ Weekend
A teenager was shot to death in Jersey City, a woman was killed in a fiery crash with a dump truck in Ocean County, and a man is in critical condition after an SUV hit him in a Princeton crosswalk.
Here are the headlines from the weekend in New Jersey you may have missed.
Teen Shot Dead In Jersey City Apartment, Prosecutor Says
A 16-year-old boy was found shot to death in Jersey City on Friday night, prosecutors said.
Woman Killed In Fiery Head-On Dump Truck Crash In Ocean County
A woman was killed Friday when her van hit a dump truck head-on in Jackson and burst into flames, Jackson police said.
Evelin Villanueva-Detejeda, 43, of Perth Amboy, was killed in the crash that happened about 2 p.m. on Toms River Road (Route 571) near Osprey Place, Sgt. Edward Travisano said.
Six people sustained minor injuries in the collision late Friday afternoon, according to State Police Tpr. Christopher Postorino.
Read more: 11-Vehicle Crash, Overturned Truck Shut Down Turnpike In South Jersey: Police
NJ College Student Abducted From Campus, Sexually Assaulted By Armed Man, Police Say
A Union County man is facing a slew of charges after kidnapping a woman, according to the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Akram Elsayed, 28, of Roselle, has been arrested after an investigation found that he’d kidnapped a woman and handcuffed her to the door of a car, police said.
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