By Sarah Raslan 21 Dec 2010
Houston-area sheikh, who must wear an ankle monitor, sues former backers
After an immigration ordeal that left him in a Houston detention center for five months, a local sheikh is now at odds with a Muslim society in his struggle to obtain a work permit and legal residency.
Zoubir Bouchikhi, 40, an Algerian native, was released from immigration detention on $20,000 bail in May 2009 with a GPS ankle monitor. Now, he says, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston is refusing to sign a document he needs to get his green card.
The sheikh has filed a lawsuit in state district court seeking to compel the society, Houston's most prominent Muslim organization, to sponsor his residency. The society promised to help him get a green card when it employed and sponsored him in 2003, Bouchikhi said.
"I am holding them directly responsible for all the hardship me, my wife and kids and the community went through," Bouchikhi said. "My wife and I only have each other and the kids. My kids were like orphans while I was detained."
Aziz Siddiqi, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, confirmed that the society is refusing to sign the document Bouchikhi needs, known as an I-360 form. Siddiqi declined to explain why.
"We're not going to sign any papers for him," Siddiqi said.
Green card denied in 2007
The Islamic society petitioned for a green card on behalf of the sheikh in 2003. Immigration authorities denied the request in 2007, saying the society failed to prove it was paying Bouchikhi's salary and that he had been continuously employed for two years prior to filing the petition.
Bouchikhi said the society had forced him to get rid of his attorney in 2003 and to use their lawyer as a condition of sponsoring him. That lawyer did nothing to help him, he said, and the society refused to cooperate with a new lawyer he hired in 2007.
Bouchikhi's lawyer filed a new I-360, the document needed to prove he was sponsored, in 2007, but the society has refused to sign.
Prior to his detention, Bouchikhi was the spiritual leader of a southeast Houston mosque associated with the Islamic society. Members of that mosque said they had been urging the society to provide Bouchikhi with the documentation he needs.
"He wants to make an honest living, like everyone else," said Ahmad Alaswad, a 23-year old member of Bouchikhi's congregation.
"He is a great asset to the community in Houston. All day and night he talks to the youth about drugs, sex and other social issues. He does couples counseling for those who are facing marital problems. He is a great teacher, person and friend."
Restraining order
Now, Bouchikhi is not permitted even to worship at the mosque he once led, which is a block from his home. Although the society has not obtained a restraining order, he said, "Aziz has threatened me with charges of criminal trespassing. With the probation and GPS I have on my ankle he has threatened to get me deported."
Siddiqi said Bouchikhi has been banned from the society's facilities because he has caused disturbances. He declined to elaborate.
Meanwhile, Bouchikhi's battle to become a legal resident continues.
"It's certainly been a procedural nightmare and it continues to drag on," said Brian Bates, Bouchikhi's attorney. "I think ultimately he's going to secure his legal residency."
sarah.raslan@chron.com 