MORRISTOWN, Tennessee (LifeSiteNews) — A homeschooling family from Germany may be deported under the Biden administration despite moving to the United States nearly 15 years ago.
As reported by LifeSite in 2010, the nine-member Romeike family sought refuge in America due to their native country’s strict rules against parents educating their children within the confines of their own home. They were granted asylum in the U.S. by a Memphis judge at the time.
In Germany, the Romeikes had been subjected to criminal prosecution for simply raising their children outside the state-approved school system. In Bissingen, district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, they faced exorbitant fines, forcible removal of their children, and possible imprisonment.
Former President Barack Obama sought to have the family kicked out of the U.S. in 2012. He and then Attorney General Eric Holder pressured the Board of Immigration to rescind the decision to grant asylum.
“The goal in Germany is for an open, pluralistic society,” Holder argued in a Justice Department brief regarding the case. “Teaching tolerance to children of all backgrounds helps to develop the ability to interact as a fully functioning citizen in Germany.”
A lengthy legal battle ensued, with the Romeikes, who had been (and are still) living in East Tennessee, eventually losing their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014.
The Romieke family is a White, Christian family of 9 who fled Germany 15 years ago b/c the German government punished them for homeschooling their kids. After they were initially granted asylum, Merrick Garland's DOJ fought the decision & won, and is now seeking to deport them.… https://t.co/utCfXMAvHX pic.twitter.com/9zxxZXu8sH
— Sam Parker 🇺🇲 (@SamParkerSenate) September 25, 2023
Thanks to public pressure from pro-family media outlets and non-profits, the Department of Homeland Security shockingly announced in March 2014 to “defer action” on their case. A petition launched at the time in support of the family had garnered over 120,000 signatures.
For the last nine years, the Romeikes have had a normal life in America, despite their non-citizen status. Uwe, the family’s patriarch, is a pianist at First Baptist Church in Morristown. He also works at Carson-Newman University as a piano instructor. His wife Hammelore has since given birth to two more children. Two of their adult children are married to U.S. citizens.
Romeike informed NBC affiliate WBIR-TV that two weeks ago an immigration agent instructed him to return to the office with his family in four weeks, with German passports, to deport themselves.
“We don’t have any place to live there. I don’t have any work to provide for my family over there,” he said. “We wanted to help [our children] grow up in… what we believe in and not get basically indoctrinated with something we don’t want.”
A petition urging the Biden administration to allow the Romeike family to stay in the United States has since been started by the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.
“In September 2023,” it reads, “without any prior warning or explanation, the Romeikes were told that they are being deported, and have four weeks to obtain passports to Germany. Germany’s opposition to homeschooling has only increased in the last 10 years, making criminal charges against this family all but certain upon their return.”
“President Biden and his administration have the authority to direct the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to reinstate the Romeikes’ deferred status and save them from deportation. Together, we can ask the Biden administration to do just that.”
Click here to sign the petition.
This story is developing…