Posted on: Friday, July 12, 2002

Chef has plans for Maui despite immigration flap

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Chai Chaowasaree is waiting for Congress to review legislation that could ultimately overrule a federal appeals court's decision that would send him back to Thailand. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

A year ago, Chai Chaowasaree was about to be kicked out of the country.

But the popular Thai chef is still on O'ahu running his two upscale restaurants and said yesterday that he is planning to open another one on Maui.

"I didn't know if I was going or staying last year," said Chaowasaree as he sat in Singha Thai Cuisine, one of his restaurants. "I thought I was gone for sure, but I'm still here."

Chaowasaree won a reprieve thanks to U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai'i, who introduced legislation that could ultimately overrule a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that would send him back to Thailand.

Chaowasaree has been fighting deportation since 1991, when the Immigration and Naturalization Service determined that his 1985 marriage to a Big Island woman was fraudulent and moved to deport him. Last July 17, the appeals court cleared the way for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization act to deport Chaowasaree, 39, because INS officials said he voided his deportation appeal and violated terms of his residency when he visited his ailing father in his native Thailand.

His high-profile case touched off months of public debate, in part because of his longtime community involvement and popularity. Many felt that the 1996 passage of immigration laws intended to crack down on illegal immigrants stripped courts of virtually all discretion in dealing with those who break the laws without consideration to severity. The laws were not lenient to those, like Chaowasaree, who had fragile terms of U.S. residency, some argued.

Chaowasaree planned to sell his restaurants after the appeals court decision. But in December, he was allowed to stay in the United States until Feb. 1, 2003, while Congress reviews legislation on his behalf that Akaka introduced.

"The bill is pending and we just have to wait," said Chaowasaree, who owns Chai's Island Bistro in the Aloha Tower Marketplace and Singha Thai Cuisine in Waikiki.

"I feel like I can't put my life on hold, so I have plans to expand the business. I need to just move forward because whatever happens, happens."

Chaowasaree opened his first restaurant, Singha Thai Cuisine, in 1988, and he is close to signing a lease for a 7,500-square-foot restaurant on Maui that specializes in cuisine of the Pacific Rim. He wants to open the new restaurant by early next year.

If the bill is not approved by February and not reintroduced, Chaowasaree will be deported, INS district director Donald Radcliffe said.

Chaowasaree's attorney, Robert Ichikawa, said the bill will be resubmitted if it is not approved.

"We are hopeful that a decision will be made by then because Sen. Akaka wouldn't have introduced it if he didn't believe in it," Ichikawa said. "We are all optimistic that things will work out for Chai."

Akaka spokesman Paul Cardus was unavailable for comment.

Chaowasaree says that when he left the United States in 2000 to visit his father in Thailand, INS officials told him he could leave on a temporary green card. He hoped the appeals court would conclude that he did not knowingly disregard a 1996 immigration law that says a person cannot leave the country if an appeal is pending.

Chaowasaree was told to report for deportation last February, and when he did, he was arrested and spent five weeks in the O'ahu Community Correctional Center.

"I did nothing wrong," he said. "They told me I could go (to Thailand), and I have nothing to hide."

Chaowasaree said that he does have to leave the United States, he has offers from people in Japan, Tahiti and Bangkok who want him to open restaurants. His two sisters, Nicki and Joy, would manage the Hawai'i restaurants.

"There's a lot of opportunities out there," Chaowasaree said. "So, I'm OK. Things are normal for now."

Chaowasaree said many people also think he already left Hawai'i so they are surprised when they see him.

"This woman just came up to me at Ala Moana the other day and said, 'I'm so glad to see you're back,'" said Chaowasaree with a smile. "I just laughed and told her, 'I never left.'"