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Below is senator Levin's statement made on the senate floor:
MORNING BUSINESS -- (Senate - April 15, 2005)
Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent there now be a period of
morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
IBRAHIM PARLAK
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President: I would like to bring my colleagues' attention
to a situation facing one of my constituents, Ibrahim Parlak, who, up until a
year ago, was living the American dream. After moving to this country in 1991,
through hard work and dedication, he worked his way up from being a busboy to
owning his own restaurant, Café Gulistan, in Harbert, MI. Mr. Parlak has spent
over a decade of hard, honest work and has led an upstanding life with his
family and community. However, now, he may be deported.
Ibrahim Parlak, a Kurd born in southern Turkey, came to the United States
seeking asylum in 1991. In his asylum application, Mr. Parlak disclosed that he
had been associated with the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) in
the 1980s, that he was involved in an armed skirmish at the Turkish
border in 1988, and that he had been imprisoned in Turkey as a result of these
facts. In 1992, Mr. Parlak was granted asylum due to the persecution and torture
that he suffered at the hands of the Turkish government. The Immigration and
Naturalization Service believed that Mr. Parlak had a credible fear of returning
to Turkey.
In 1993, Mr. Parlak wanted to take the next step and become a United
States citizen. However, when he filled out his application to become a lawful
permanent resident, he did not check a box stating that he had been ''arrested,
cited, charged, indicted, fined or imprisoned for violating any law or
ordinance, excluding traffic violations,'' in or outside of the United States.
Mr. Parlak has stated that due to his limited English skills, he misunderstood
the form, and believed that the question related only to his activities since he
entered the United States. Again, Mr. Parlak had already given the Government
the information surrounding his 1988 arrest and conviction in his earlier asylum
application. He had also provided documents at the time of his asylum, in
Turkish, that described the Turkish government's view of his association with
the PKK.
Last July, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detained Mr. Parlak
and DHS is now moving to deport Mr. Parlak, claiming a deliberate
misrepresentation of facts. Further, the Department of Homeland Security states
that Mr. Parlak has been convicted of an aggravated felony after admission to
the United States because, in 2004, the now-disbanded Turkish Security Court
reopened his case from 1990 and re-sentenced him for the crime of Kurdish
separatism. The ''new'' sentence imposed by the Security Court required less
jail time than Mr. Parlak had already served, and the Security Court closed its
file on Mr. Parlak. Turkey does not seek his extradition and has, in fact, no
interest in his return and will not issue a special passport for that purpose.
Despite his strong ties to his community and the lack of evidence that he
is a flight risk, Mr. Parlak continues to be held in prison without bond. The
Department of Homeland Security says that Mr. Parlak is a ''terrorist,'' and
therefore cannot be released. This ''terrorist'' designation is based solely on
Mr. Parlak's association with the PKK in the 1980s. However, not only did Mr.
Parlak outline his involvement with the PKK in his asylum application, at the
time Mr. Parlak was associated with the PKK, it was not designated as a
terrorist organization. The State Department did not add the PKK to its list of
terrorist organizations until 1996.
I am concerned with the fact that the government continues to detain and
is attempting to deport this model immigrant over activities he disclosed in his
application for asylum, an application which, again, was granted. While it may
be disputed why the box was not checked accurately, it is incongruous to
conclude that he was intentionally hiding those facts from the Department of
Justice in 1993, when he detailed them explicitly to the Department of Justice
in 1991.
Mr. President, Mr. Parlak is a good man and should be given the chance to
remain in the United States and continue the life that he has built for his
community, his daughter and himself all these years. Our history is built upon
the courage and hard work of immigrants who opposed brutal oppression and fled
to our country seeking a new life. Ibrahim Parlak is one of them.
END
For the Congressional Record in PDF format click
here.
For Senator Levin's statement on the web click
here.
The Congressional Record on the governments web site:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2005_record&page=S3717&position=all
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2005_record&page=S3730&position=all
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2005_record&page=S3731&position=all
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