Billy Hallowell
The Blaze
11/26/2013
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the Obama administration to officially respond to a German family’s deportation appeal in a complicated case involving religious freedom, parental rights and education.
The Romeike family, who are evangelical Christians, have made headlines with their years-long struggle to homeschool their children.
After fleeing Germany and arriving in the U.S. in 2008, the family had hoped to practice their faith and educate their children freely, but the U.S. government decided to deport Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their six children.
Now, with stakes high, the Romeikes are fighting to remain in the U.S. If they are sent back to Germany and continue to homeschool, the parents could lose their children or risk government fines…
…The latest developments in the case come after a seven-year battle. The Romeike family’s problems first began in 2006 when they pulled their children out of public school in Germany and were subsequently fined by the government and threatened with legal action. Two years later, they fled to the U.S. in an effort to freely educate their children. Homeschooling has been illegal in Germany since 1918.
As TheBlaze previously reported, an immigration judge granted the parents and children asylum in 2010, but the U.S. government appealed, arguing that laws against homeschooling don’t constitute human rights infractions.
Despite the family’s claim that a return to Germany would mean fines and potential jail time, an immigration review board agreed with the government, and the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the family’s push for a new hearing. Now, the Romeikes’ fate is in the hands of the Supreme Court.
The Home School Legal Defense Association created a video about the family’s story…
The complete article, with video, is at The Blaze.
