The Romeike family, originally from Germany, sought refuge in the United States nearly 15 years ago in pursuit of a fundamental human right: the ability to homeschool their children.
Fleeing Germany and its stringent compulsory education laws, the Romeikes, devout evangelical Christians, made the life-altering decision to leave their homeland in 2009. The heart of their objection lay in the public school curricula, which clashed with their religious beliefs, particularly in sex education, evolution, and fairy tales.
In Germany, homeschooling remains illegal, though enforcement can vary by district. Their commitment to their convictions led to severe consequences; in 2006, they faced substantial fines and even had their children escorted to school by the police. This relentless pursuit of their ideals ultimately led them to the United States.
Upon their arrival in Morristown, Tennessee, the Romeike family sought asylum, citing religious persecution in Germany. Their case sparked a contentious debate surrounding homeschooling as a human right and whether denying a family the opportunity to homeschool for faith reasons amounted to persecution.
Their journey through the U.S. legal system was fraught with challenges. Despite an initial victory in a Tennessee court in 2010, subsequent appeals before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals were unsuccessful, with the court saying, “There is a difference between the persecution of a discrete group and the prosecution of those who violate a generally applicable law.”
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals maintained that there was a distinction between the persecution of a specific group and the enforcement of a generally applicable law. Deferred action, while not providing a path to citizenship, granted the Romeike family a reprieve, allowing them to remain in the U.S., falling short of a permanent solution.
They have followed the letter of the law since entry to the U.S., including keeping weekly appointments with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Further, none of them have had so much as a traffic ticket.
Recently, during a routine check-in with immigration officials, the Romeike family received an ultimatum: secure passports and return to Germany within four weeks. This imminent threat of deportation hangs heavily over a family deeply rooted in the United States, with two of their children having married U.S. citizens, one of the couple having a child, and the mother and father of the original five children having two more since coming to the U.S.
Realize that a foreign-born who marries a U.S. citizen is often granted U.S. citizenship after a lengthy process, and a child born on U.S. soil is automatically a U.S. citizen. That was the argument leveled at the system in 2018 when there was a congressional call to alter the 14th Amendment to deport children born in the U.S. to illegal alien parents.
Their plight is a stark juxtaposition to what is happening along the southern border.
There is an established visa application process, including comprehensive vetting, interviews, and adherence to immigration law. However, the Biden administration parole program allows entry without the standard prerequisites and allows other asylees, refugees, people with Temporary Protected Status, and even other parolees to become sponsors.
We are no longer a nation of rules or lawful standards but in the throes of a form of Fascism, better known as Nazism. Further, this is not a Democrat or Republican thing but a pure evil aimed at destroying our Constitutional Republic.
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