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The
Punishing Persecution Of Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi: The
Struggle Continues...
17 January 2011 By El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan
Assalaamu Alaikum (Greetings of
Peace):
This is coming to our readers
from Houston, Texas, where I've just returned after
the unconscionable re-detention of Sheikh Zoubir
Bouchikhi, a beloved and respected Muslim scholar,
teacher and religious leader from
Algeria. Sheikh Zoubir and his family
have resided in the U.S. for the past 13 years. (Three
of his four children are American citizens by birth.)
I think it would help to provide
a little background on this case for those unfamiliar
with who Sheikh Zoubir Bouchikhi is.
Sheikh Zoubir arrived in the
United States in December of 1997. He applied for a
"green card," and received the approval of his 1-360
(a key immigration document) in October 2003. Almost
four years later, in April 2007, he received a
letter of intent to revoke.
After responding to all of the
allegations behind the revocation document - providing
the relevant documents and other evidence required by
USCIS - Sheikh Zoubir still received the letter of
revocation of the I-360, and denial of his green card
application (I-485) based on new allegations.
Sheikh Zoubir, through his lawyer
Brian Bates, then appealed to the
Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) in Washington,
DC., responding to all of the new allegations. While
the AAO reportedly agreed with the Sheikh's
position, it nevertheless dismissed his appeal in
November 2008. Sheikh Zoubir was arrested by
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers one
month later, on
December 17,
2008, as an "ARRIVING ALIEN." He was denied bond and
spent five months in detention.
Sheikh Zoubir was released on a
$20,000 bond in May 2009, with an electronic
monitoring device (GPS) fitted to his ankle. Passports
belonging to him, his wife and his eldest son (who
entered the country as a year old infant) were
confiscated, and the process for his removal went into
high gear. In June 2009 an immigration judge ordered
him removed. An appeal of this order, to the
Board
of Immigration Appeals (BIA), was
registered the following month (July 2009).
The BIA dismissed his appeal on
December 2, 2010; Sheikh Zoubir then filed another
appeal on
December 22,
2010 (before the deadline to do so) to the
Court
of Appeals in the Fifth Circuit (New
Orleans, LA).
Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) handed him a Notice to
Removable Alien on December 27th,
2010; with a deadline to leave the country on January
24, 2011.
Despite the FACT that Zoubir
Bouchikhi has lawfully and peacefully resided in
America for the past 13 years, serving the community
as a respected religious leader; despite the fact that
he has three American born children in his family;
despite the appeal that he still has pending in the
federal judiciary's Fifth Circuit; and despite having
a removal date of January 24, 2011 - Sheikh Zoubir was
needlessly and callously taken back into custody
on Tuesday,
January 11, and
sits once again in a detention center awaiting forced
deportation.
It appears that this unfortunate
ordeal was triggered by two things: (a) Sheikh
Zoubir's brief travel outside of the U.S. and
subsequent reentry in February 2006; (b) and one or
more Muslim "leaders" in the Houston area, quietly
working in tandem with the government to have him
removed.
With that said, last evening the
wife of Sheikh Zoubir (Mounira Belhacel), a close
friend and supporter (Ali Khalili), his two sons (Ilyas
and Omar), and I, were guests of a radio program in
the Houston area called "Arab Voices." The
program airs over the Pacifica Radio affiliate - KPFT. (You
can access the broadcast below.)
Listen to the broadcast, and play
close attention to the sentiments expressed by Sr.
Mounira and her two sons. It puts a human face on the
madness; it is the same sentiment being felt by Muslim
families who feel themselves under siege all over
America.
And finally, there's an
interesting commentary at the very end ("Republicans
and Their Guns") that's also worthy of a few moments
of serious reflection.
I'm looking forward to
seeing all who will join us tomorrow morning
(Friday) for the demonstration at the ICE Building -
from 9:00 to 12 noon - located at 126 Northpoint Dr.,
Houston TX 77060 -
Tel: (281) 774-4816.
There's a heated debate going on
right now in America concerning the power of words.
Words do indeed have consequence. But the ACTIONS
towards Muslims - from both ends of the
socio-political spectrum - have consistently spoken
louder than mere words!
The struggle continues...
©
EsinIslam.Com
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