Romieke Family Awaiting US Supreme Court Ruling In Homeschooling Case, Faces Deportation To Germany

The Romeike Family may soon have an answer in the deportation lawsuit filed against Department of Justice and Eric Holder. The US Supreme Court is expected to decide whether or not to hear the homeschooling case by Monday.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the Romeike family fled Germany because they felt their religious freedom and parenting rights were being infringed upon by the government. Since the Nazi era, homeschooling has been illegal in Germany.

Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, both evangelical Christians, want to be able to homeschool their children and educate them in a safe and wholesome environment. All went well for the immigrants until the Obama administration decided to overrule a lower court decision and decided the Romeike family should be on the first plane back to Germany—where they face steep fines, possible jail time, and the potential removal of their children.

In 2010, an immigration judge gave the Romeike family asylum on human rights grounds, but the federal government appealed the court ruling and began the long legal journey which ultimately led to the Supreme Court. The US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently denied the Romeike family’s request for a new hearing on the asylum matter.The Obama administration’s US Justice Department does not feel that the denial of the right to practice their religion and educate their children as they see fit constitutes an infringement upon the Romeike family’s human rights.

The Home School Legal Defense Association, which has helped so many American families with homeschooling battles, is also aiding the Romeike family. The non-profit organization was formed to help advance and defend the constitutional rights of parents to guide the education of their children.

HSLDA founder Michael Farris had this to say about the Romeike deportation legal battle:

“This is not over yet. We are taking this case to the Supreme Court because we firmly believe that this family deserves the freedom that this country was founded on. Despite Friday’s order, the Sixth Circuit’s opinion contains two clear errors: First, they wholly ignored Germany’s proclamation that a central reason for banning homeschooling is to suppress religious minorities. Second, the Sixth Circuit erred when it failed to address the claim that parental rights are so fundamental that no government can deny parents the right to choose an alternative to the public schools. The German High Court is on record for saying that religious homeschoolers should be targeted and severely punished, yet our Justice Department sees nothing wrong with that.”

Farris went on to accurately note that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ignored ample evidence that the Romeike family is being persecuted for their religious beliefs and will very likely face legal punishment if forced to return to their homeland.

The Justice Department has undertaken no similar action when hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants have poured across US-Mexico border. Perhaps the answer to why the Obama administration and liberals in general tend to shun homeschooling is best explained by a report written for Slate by Dana Goldstein. The piece was entitled, “Liberals, Don’t Homeschool Your Kids: Why Teaching Children at Home Violates Progressive Values.”

A quote from Goldstein’s article reads:

“Government is the only institution with the power and scale to intervene in the massive undertaking of better educating American children.”

A Justice Department letter asking the court to deny a new hearing in the Romeike deportation case appears to support Germany’s decision to prohibit homeschooling. The letter stated that the opposition to the development of “parallel societies” or religiously or philosophically motivated societies is designed to create an open and pluralistic society.

An excerpt from the Obama Administration letter sent by Eric Holder’s Justice Department reads:

“Teaching tolerance to children of all backgrounds helps to develop the ability to interact as a fully functioning citizen in Germany. It is scarcely feasible, with those stated goals in mind, to tease from the opinion, a persecutory motive on the part of those who enforce the law.”

Do you think the Romeike family should be deported, or allowed to stay in the United States and homeschool their children?