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DOJ seeks deportation of family persecuted in Germany for homeschooling

DOJ seeks deportation of family persecuted in Germany for homeschooling

A reader called to my attention the case of Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their children.

The Romeikes are devout Christians from Germany who wanted to homeschool their children because of what they perceived as the secularist agenda in German public schools.

In the United States, the right to homeschool ones’ own children is accepted, although frequently mocked by the left.  The homeschoool movement is thriving in the United States, but in Germany it is illegal, a holdover from Nazi-era law.

The Romeikes fled to the United States in 2008 after they faced mounting fines and the potential of imprisonment.   The Romeikes sought asylum, and were granted that asylum by Immigration Judge Lawrence O. Burman in a January 26, 2010 decision after a hearing which included not only the Romeikes but also expert witnesses on homeschooling in Germany.

It’s important to read Judge Burman’s detailed findings to comprehend what faced the Romeikes:

October 9, 2006, [the Romeikes] got a letter from the mayor informing them that they would suffer a fine of about $45 per child, per day, and if necessary, the government would use force. The Romeikes ignored that. On October 20, 2006, two armed police officers came to the house to take the children to school. This produced a very upsetting scene for the children, the children were crying and were upset, as the three children that were of school age were herded off to go to school. Apparently, the police had no warrant or other authorization to do this, however, the Romeikes were not aware that they had any basis to resist legally, so they allowed the children to go to school. However, Mrs. Romeike retrieved the children at lunch hour

On October 23, 2006, the police appeared in force this time to take the children to school. However, the neighborhood apparently had been alerted and neighbors blocked the police from taking action. At that point, the government backed off for a while, obviously they were not sure what to do. Apparently these situations are fairly rare and apparently had not occurred in this town previously.

In December of 2006, the government began to get tough, they informed the Romeikes that the children must attend school and there would be a fine of about $672 initially, which would only escalate in the future if they continued to resist.

Also the mayor informed them that in addition to the fines, which would escalate, that they might lose custody of the children. There is a social work organization, in Germany called the Jugendamt, which apparently means youth office in German, and they have the authority to remove children from parents under certain circumstances.

Respondents did go to Court over this and explained the situation. The Judge did not accept their explanation, he found them guilty of not sending their children to school, which is a crime.

Respondents took various legal measures over the ensuing months and they were not successful at any level. They faced escalating fines which would eventually be more than they could afford to pay. The applicant makes about 12,000 Euros a month, and the family had been fined about 7,000 Euros at the time they left the country and the fines would only increase. If they were not able to pay the fines, they also stood to lose their property, but most importantly, they stood to lose custody of their children, and that was their main fear. There also is a possibility that they could have been sent to jailr as these are criminal statutes.

Judge Burman then went on to examine the history, purposes and implementation of the anti-homeschooling laws in Germany, on which there was expert testimony offered:

Michael Donnelly, a staff attorney with the Homeschooling Legal Defense, testified very compellingly. He not only is an expert who has made intense study of the homeschooling situation worldwide, but he in fact has actually spoken to nearly all of the German parents who have been mentioned in the background evidence, and has virtually personal knowledge of their situations….

Mr. Donnelly also testified that if fines are levied, which cannot be paid, property is attached and seized and the Jugendamt does take children into foster homes and orphanages. He discussed the case of the Garbers, whose child was placed in a foster home for six months, and placed in public school, and they could not visit the child for six months. Even more disturbing, is the case of Melissa Vusekros. When her parents kept her out of school, she was treated as if she had a psychiatric affliction known as school phobia and she was actually placed in an asylum for the mentally ill while she was tested. This frankly is reminiscent of the Soviet Union treating political opposition as a psychiatric problem, not only a human rights violation, it is a misuse of the psychiatric profession….

The scariest thing that Mr. Donnelly testified to is the motivation of the German government in this matter. I certainly would have assumed that the motivation would be concern for the children. We certainly do some odd things, in the United States, out of concern for children, but the explanation is always given that the Government has a right and an interest to look after children in their country. However, that does not seem to be the explanation. Mr. Donnelly described the judicial decisions, in Germany, not so much being interested in the welfare of the children, as being interested in stamping out groups that want to run a parallel society, and apparently there is a fair amount of vitriol involved in this attempt to stamp out these parallel societies. I found that odd. Another interesting fact is the fact that this law has not always existed in Germany, it was enacted in 1938, when Adolph Hitler and the Nazi Party was in power in Germany, and it was enacted specifically to prevent parents from interfering with state control of their children, and we all know what kind of state control Hitler had in mind. It certainly was not for the good of the children, not even facial.

Now obviously Germany has changed since 1938. Germany is a Democratic country, Germany is an ally of the United States, and Germany does provide due process of law. However, this one incidence of Nazi legislation appears to still be in full force and effect, and that is the situation that Mr. Donnelly described, and the Romeikes fear.

Judge Burman then went on to contrast the legal protections in the United States for homeschooling, and how the situation the Romeikes faced fared under asylum law. Judge Burman found that there was no past “persecution” as that term is defined in the 6th Circuit, but did find a legitimate fear of future persecution based on religious grounds:

So, therefore, although I do not find that there is a political opinion in this case, I do find that the religious beliefs of the Rorneikes are being frustrated, and the practice of their religion will not be permitted under current German law, dealing with homeschooling, and also I find that they belong to a particular social group of homeschoolers who, for some reason, the government chooses to treat as a rebel organization, a parallel society, for reasons of its own.

As I stated above, this is not traditional German doctrine, this is Nazi doctrine, and it is in this Court’s mind, utterly repellant to everything that we believe in as Americans. Religious freedom is in many ways the most basic freedom in this country, certainly most of the original refugees that came to the United States, in colonial times, and in the early days of the republic, were religious refugees, many of them from Germany, such as the Amish and the Mennonites and many other groups and, therefore, I find that it is not just a question of enforcing our Constitution on a foreign country, but rather the rights that are being violated in this case are basic to humanity, they are basic human rights which no country has a right to violate, even a country that is in many ways a good country! such as Germany.

Therefore, I find that respondents do have a well-founded fear of persecution if they returned to Germany…. But if Germany is not willing to let them follow their religion, not willing to let them raise their children, then the United States should serve as a place of refuge for the applicants…. Therefore, the Court will grant asylum in the exercise of discretion to Mr. Romeike and, as derivatives, to his wife and children.

I have quoted Judge Burman’s findings at length because those findings are important to what happened next.

The government appealed to the Immigration Board of Appeal, which reversed Judge Burman in a May 4, 2012 decision which contested not only Judge Burman’s recitation of the law, but also Judge Burman’s findings of fact on many issues including the Nazi-era foundation of the current law.

The record also does not demonstrate that the burden of the compulsory school attendance law falls disproportionately on any religious minority and specifically on the applicahts’ practice of Christianity; The applicants have not shown that most homeschoolers share their religious beliefs, or that most parents with their religious beliefs choose to homeschool. Homeschoolers in Germany are not a homogenous group. Parents have varied reasons for wanting to homeschooL Not all such reasons are religiously based….

Nothing in the record suggests thatthe compulsory school attendance law was or will be enforced against the applicants because of their opposition to the law’s policy. Rather, the law is being enforced because they are violating it. There is no indication that officials are motivated by anything other than law enforcement….

It is clear that the applicants homeschool for religious reasons; however, for the foregoing reasons, they have not shown that their religion, their religious-based desire to homeschool, or their status as homeschoolers is a central reason that the compulsory school attendance law was or will be enforced enforced against them….

Having not shown any pretext in the enforcement of the compulsory school attendance law against them, the applicants did not establish a well-founded fear of persecution or the higher threshold of a clear probablility of persecution. Accordingly, we will sustain the DHS’s appeal, and order the applicants’ removal from the United States to Germany.

The Romeikes have appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The appeal is fully briefed:

The Romeikes have framed the issues on appeal as follows:

1. Whether the Board of Immigration Appeals improperly reversed the Immi­gration Judge’s finding of fact that German homeschoolers are selectively prosecuted and disproportionately punished because of their religious be­liefs.

2. Whether the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in concluding, as a matter of law, that Germany’s compulsory attendance law is a religiously-neutral law of general applicability, which does not result in persecution against re­ ligious homeschoolers.

3. Whether Germany’s compulsory school attendance law, which is applied to prohibit the development and growth of religiously- or philosophically­-motivated “parallel societies,” is a gross violation of international human rights standards.

4. Whether Religious Homeschoolers in Germany are a “particular social group” within the meaning of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The DOJ counters that the following issues are on appeal:

I. Whether the record compels the conclusion that Germany selectively enforces its compulsory school attendance law, or disproportionately punishes those who violate it, such that the law is a mere pretext for persecution on account of a protected ground.

II. Whether the record compels the conclusion that Romeike belongs to a cognizable social group of homeschoolers where the group lacks social visibility and particularity.

The legal arguments turn on the religious component of homeschooling in Germany. Judge Burman clearly made factual findings based on testimony which supported the Romeikes’ asylum application, only to have those findings disregarded by the Immigration Board of Appeal based on more generalized notions of the German system. This could prove a decisive factor.

What is important for now is the somewhat shocking situation faced by homeschoolers in Germany, and the lengths to which the government will go to enforce its will.

There’s a lesson there.

Updates:  I should have noted that the Romeikes are being represented by the Home School Legal Defense Association, which has an update on the case.

Also, a law review article about the case appeared in Boston College Law School International and Comparative Law Review,  “Germany Homeschoolers as ‘Particular Social Group’: Evaluation Under Current U.S. Asylum Jurisprudence,”

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Comments

I’ll take a Romeike over an Obama Drunkle any old day.

1. The legal arguments turn on the religious component of homeschooling in Germany. Judge Burman clearly made factual findings based on testimony which supported the Romeikes’ asylum application, only to have those findings disregarded by the Immigration Board of Appeal based on more generalized notions of the German system. This could prove a decisive factor.

I think you mean that this leans to the advantage of the Romeikes but, not being a lawyer, I’m not completely sure. Clarification by you or an attorney LIan would be appreciated, maybe not only by me.

2. What is important for now is the somewhat shocking situation faced by homeschoolers in Germany, and the lengths to which the government will go to enforce its will.

There’s a lesson there.

It seems plausible that the Obama administration would like to establish a legal precedent against homeschooling without igniting a political firestorm.

3. Given Barry’s ego & given that the 2008/2012 outcomes would not have happened without Republican incompetence, he might overreach and become a lame duck. I hope so but am not counting on it.

    Ragspierre in reply to gs. | February 26, 2013 at 12:17 pm

    The term of art in appeals is “the standard of review”.

    I know next to nuthin’ about the standard of review for immigration matters, which are, generally, administrative law.

    But if it is like the general standards of review used by appeals courts with which I am familiar, the appeal judges are required to be VERY differential to the findings of fact by the court below. Unless there is essentially NO evidentiary support for a given finding, appeals courts will not displace them.

    Ergo…

theduchessofkitty | February 26, 2013 at 11:14 am

“There’s a lesson there.”

Oh yes. Almost seventy years after the end of WWII, Hitler is still oppressing people.

Why did the German people did not do away with those Hitlerian laws? It bothers me.

    Nazism may have been defeated, and much of it purged from the European body politic. But fascism – and the broader totalitarian socialist bent – was never seriously discredited, merely conveniently ignored in order to stabilize and rebuild Europe as a bulwark against Stalinism.

    Something such as Nazism could only thrive in fertile soil, and western Europe was and remains such fertile soil, an uncomfortable truth that is rarely if ever discussed.

The Europeans are much further along in using education. K-12 and higher ed, as a socialization weapon to change the values, attitudes, and beliefs prevailing in a culture. We are getting there. Numerous countries both outlaw private schooling and home schooling lest the children not have the desired values. http://www.invisibleserfscollar.com/oh-good-grief-now-i-need-to-know-what-a-noetic-system-is-because-it-is-under-attack/ explains what is sought all over the West using a 1961 book from an American prof Toward a Science of Man in Society that was published in the Netherlands.

In numerous publications and periodicals like Ed Week I am now seeing references to “allowing” or “tolerating” private schools and homeschooling. So the sights are gathering here where it is even more sacred than the 2nd Amendment. Right now I would say I hear from more private school parents, especially Catholic schools, because they thought they had bought out of the anti-academic nonsense. They are thus really shocked that they have not in the least. They are noticing the changes faster though and then researching what the Common Core really is.

The DOJ that was involved with Fast and Furious and wants to argue unequal opportunities and disparate impact of academic programs violates civil rights laws is going to have no tolerance for a German family trying to protect traditional values or the primacy of the intact family.

What should be done is this:
Someone needs to hide the family like illegal aliens who were declared to be seeking sanctuary in Church. Have the family overstay their visa just like illegal aliens or Obama’s uncle.
Shove them right into DOJ’s face.
This is how you do it.
Where are they and how can I help ‘hide’ them?

    yes, good idea. they could move to Austin, TX…. it’s a ‘sanctuary city’ here. and despite the overabundance of liberal drivel still a very nice place to live.

This is the same DoJ that persecutes states for trying to stop a flood of (often violent) illegal aliens into their cities, and the government that’s eager to give amnesty to everyone who entered the country in defiance of law.

But people who came here legally and work diligently to educate their own children and instill moral values in them? Can’t have that. Get ’em out!

theduchessofkitty | February 26, 2013 at 11:48 am

Here’s what Michael Farris, the founder of the HSLDA, has to say about the case.

Money quotes:

“[T]he German government wants to prohibit people who think differently from the government (on religious or philosophical grounds) from growing and developing into a force in society.

“It is thought control. It is belief control. It is totalitarianism dressed up in politically correct lingo.”

As for our current regime… ahem, Administration…

“The United States Supreme Court has made it very clear in the past that religious freedom [the freedom claimed by this family and many families here as their reason to homeschool their children] is an individual right. Yet our current government does not seem to understand this. They only think of us as members of groups and factions. It is an extreme form of identity politics that directly threatens any understanding of individual liberty.”

Individual liberty as stated under the First Amendment is what’s at stake here, in more ways than in this case. What is this regime… ahem… Administration going to do next – prosecute the Amish (read: old-order Anabaptists) for educating their kids, in Old German and English, in small schoolhouses until the eight grade? The Amish are a “parallel society”. What about other denominations that encourage homeschooling among their members?

Not to mention, the family has been proven consistently to be the last bastion of individual rights against the might of the State. The Ruling Class has made no secret that they intend to eventually destroy all of our families so we would all have one Supreme Protector – The State. Does the Democrat Convention’s “We all belong to the Government” ring a bell?

If we fail this family, we will eventually destroy it – and all of ours in the end.

Uwe Pedro and Hannelore Romeike Consuelo Zapata.

Pssstt, Eric, they ran guns for you, remember?

There, all fixed.

MaggotAtBroadAndWall | February 26, 2013 at 11:53 am

Why is the government spending taxpayer money to appeal Judge Burman’s finding? This appears to be a fairly affluent family capable of being self reliant and paying taxes. When Republicans finally cave, we will give amnesty to 11 million people who who intentionally broke our laws to come her illegally. But the government wants to prevent a family jumping through all the right hoops that is fleeing Christian persecution (loosely defined persecution) from staying?

I don’t understand.

    You probably understand perfectly well, but the truth is too awful to contemplate, to face.

    Germany is an important NATO ally and has acquiesced in Obama’s trillion dollar a year printing press. They don’t want a precedent for declaring Germany a state that abuses civil rights, and gives safe haven to fleeing homeschoolers. So if you’re Obama, which side of this fight puts more butter on your bread?

      yes that is true, but also the fact is these are obviously conservative people who don’t need the government teat stuffed in their mouths. what use to Bobo have for somebody like that?

If they were Muslims the DOJ would not be trying to overturn this case …

This is infuriating. How many illegals are in this country? How many of them are not decent people but drug dealers and other criminals? Why is the DOJ spending time and money trying to deport these people who are being genuinely persecuted by their home country? Disgusting.

And yet scofflaw criminal Illegal Immigrant — OMAR OKECH OBAMA [aka: ONYANGO OBAMA – aka: UNCLE OMAR] — who has been under a deportation order since the 1980’s, was arrested for DUI and subsequently reordered deported just a couple of years ago, STILL WORKS ILLEGALLY and RESIDES IN THE USA ILLEGALLY — and will undoubtedly never be deported.

UNCLE OMAR does not provably face persecution of any kind if deported back to Kenya. Kenya LOVES Barack Hussein Obama. He is their favorite “Son”. No one else in the Obama Family has been persecuted in Kenya. In fact, for several Obama’s in Kenya, their fortunes have dramatically changed for the better.

Let’s not even get started on Barack Hussein Obama’s scofflaw criminal Illegal Immigrant Aunty — Zeituni Onyango — who was ALSO under deportation order(s) for decades and ignored them all while subsisting on public assistance, welfare, HUD, and food stamps. Then, when finally caught for like the 4th time, she gets permanent residency. How? POLITICAL ASYLUM! Even though there was absolutely zero credible evidence she required political asylum of any type whatsoever. Plus, the entire thing was decided behind closed doors — and NOT in open court.

Yet — the US Government will fight tooth & nail to deport this entire family, including the children, back to Germany to face religious persecution and life-altering punishment for nothing more than being Christians and merely home schooling their kids. And this is AFTER they availed themselves of the time consuming LEGAL process to seek asylum and be approved for residency in the USA under asylum and subsequently taking up residency in the USA after being granted that asylum by the US Government — as opposed to being a SCOFFLAW CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT Family then ‘seeking asylum’.

I would exclaim, “UNREAL!” — but I know all too well that this once great and exceptional country is now an OBAMANATION — the very antithesis of great and exceptional.

There’s nothing ‘unreal’ about this at all. It is to be fully expected. No one should be the least bit gobsmacked by this. However, it should stick in your craw like superglue candy. But then again — everything this abhorrent fascist Government does — or does not do as the case may be — should stick in our craw.

“Nothing in the record suggests that the compulsory school attendance law was or will be enforced against the applicants because of their opposition to the law’s policy. Rather, the law is being enforced because they are violating it.”

Remember when civil disobedience was held up as an ideal?

They’re white.

“…huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

Too bad these good people aren’t Black Panthers. Too bad they aren’t narco-terrorists needing guns or radical Islamists wanting to shoot up an army base. Then they would have a free pass from Holder & company.

9thDistrictNeighbor | February 26, 2013 at 1:17 pm

As a homeschooler, I look at this issue a bit differently—an attack on homeschooling in this country. Every state has their own requirements for homeschooling; some states’ requirements are more onerous than others. The NEA, AFT, Democrats, etc., have always wanted to exert more control over homeschoolers with the oft-stated goal of eliminating homeschooling entirely. With the advent of “Race to the Top” money and the “Common Core” curriculum (go over to Michelle Malkin for some top-notch information about the truly dreadful Common Core), I believe it is only a matter of time before the federal government will wrestle control of all primary and secondary education away from the states on the basis of money (it’s how they got 45 states, four territories, DC, and DoD to adopt the standards). Eliminating state differences in education by federalizing the curriculum, making preschool mandatory, and probably college as well (since you can’t get a job as a file clerk without a college degree), it will be darn-tootin’ (trying my best to choose polite words) difficult for homeschooling to exist at all. Which is like Germany. One of the biggest reasons a lot of people choose to homeschool their kids is to remove them from government control through curriculum, indoctrination, etc.

There is a lot of debate among some homeschoolers about the HSLDA. Some don’t like if for it’s hyper-legislative approach; some don’t like it for it’s rather evangelical religious bent. However, in this instance they are doing the job their members are paying for. I may have to join simply to fund the Romeikes’ appeal.

Dennis Prager:

In 1834, 99 years before Adolf Hitler and the Nazis came to power, the great German poet Heinrich Heine, a secular Jew, predicted what would happen if Christianity ever weakened in Germany:

“A drama will be enacted in Germany compared to which the French Revolution will seem like a harmless walk in the park. Christianity restrained the marshal ardor of the Germans for a time, but it did not destroy it; once the restraining guard is shattered, savagery will rise again . . . the mad fury of the berserk of which Nordic poets sing and speak>”

This is our government today, folks. Why would they go after self supporting and court approved immigrants who will be harassed in their home country but leave ignorant and unemployed illegal immigrants alone? Not only leave them alone but pay them to stay here. They have time to go after people like these but can’t seem to deport the ones here illegally.

This is so disturbing on so many levels. I read an article this morning and must share. It is so simple that even your most brain-dead liberal friend can understand. Article isn’t long, just pertinent.

Take away quotes:
I think of it as the difference between snowstorms and snowflakes. A collectivist sees humanity as a snowstorm, and that’s as up-close as he gets if he’s consistent. An individualist sees the storm, too, but is immediately drawn to the uniqueness of each snowflake that composes it. The distinction is fraught with profound implications.

Collectivist thinking is simply not very deep or thorough. Collectivists see the world the way Mr. Magoo did—as one big blur. But unlike Mr. Magoo, they’re not funny. They homogenize people in a communal blender, sacrificing the discrete features that make us who we are. The collectivist “it takes a village” mentality assigns thoughts and opinions to amorphous groups, when, in fact, only particular people hold thoughts and opinions.

Karl Marx was a collectivist. Mother Theresa was an individualist. One dealt with people in lumps. The other one treated them as individuals. The lessons in that clear-cut dichotomy are legion. They are ignored only at great peril.

Read more: http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/snowstorms-or-snowflakes#ixzz2M2A0VLTW

Given my WW2 refugee parents, I never expected to mutter Don’t let’s be beastly to the Germans, but for Pete’s sake.

The depravity into which Germany went was not inevitable.

America is not immune. It’s foolhardy to think otherwise. Heaven forbid we should experience Weimaresque inflation.

NB: the foregoing is not meant as moral, cultural, or historical relativism.

    Ragspierre in reply to gs. | February 26, 2013 at 4:25 pm

    Not only not inevitable, it was not unique, as we have seen many times since WWII.

    I’ve been struck many times by how “Never again…” has been displaced by, “Oh. Meh…”, as we have seen genocide and other mass killings around the world.

    There was nothing about Germans that other people are not capable of. And a LOT of what was monstrous in Germany had been presaged…and morally rationalized…here decades before under Progressivism.

BannedbytheGuardian | February 26, 2013 at 6:25 pm

Firstly the US has a right to grant asylum or reject it to anyone under any Us law & no matter how it. Is manipulated. Germany will not directly interfere.

I have family who fled Prussia because of the uber efforts I the process of German Unification mid 19th century. This included compulsory schooling & an argument over Lutheran rites plus avoiding conscription , plus more than a bit of anti Slavic ism .

I read this from the German perspective at Der Spiegal . They also have the compulsory schooling as a Bismarkian rule . No doubt it was brought out again in 38 , it may have still been on the books – or may not have been- through the end of The Kaisers & the many governments 1919- 33.

Certainly the Allied overlords did not see the need to wipe it out 1945 along with most other Nazi edicts .Another complication is the DDR – I highly doubt much homeschooling happened there , but they had their own laws.

The end result it was agreed to on re – unification in 1990. It has apparently been approved by the Eu in 2006 & the German Supreme Court 2007.

So it certainly looks like alaw with a strong historical tradition.

In particular it was noted by Der Spiegal that the US homeschooling / evangelical movement had been targeting the 200 German miscreants -especially those of a similar religious / political viewpoint . Uwe admitted that it was Michael Donnelly that recruited them to go to the US.

All is fair so far.

USA law for Americans. German law for Germany.

Viva la difference.

    9thDistrictNeighbor in reply to BannedbytheGuardian. | February 26, 2013 at 9:48 pm

    Regardless of what you read in Der Spiegel, if you believe that homeschool=evangelical, you are misinformed. The modern homeschooling movement began with counter-culture leftists in the ’60s, pioneered by “unschooling” advocate John Holt. The unschooling element of the modern homeschool movement has not been eclipsed by evangelicals, nor any other style of teaching. There are as many different methods and styles of homeschooling as there are homeschoolers; that’s why we do it.

      BannedbytheGuardian in reply to 9thDistrictNeighbor. | February 26, 2013 at 10:53 pm

      This case is for political asylum based on religious grounds.

      I have visited several historic schools built by the ‘German ‘ communities in NC & Virginia dating back to the early settlers . These schools were organised around harvest & farming demands. Attendance was compulsory when not working.

      I note that the husband is a classical piano player & sold his pianos. Fun fact is that China is buying up all historic & valued pianos aroun th world. They have a piano fetish .

      Look guys – you choose to move backward beyond the German settlers – your business.but don’t blame Germany.

The Home School Legal Defense Association is a wonderful group. We homeschooled our kids and found their materials invaluable. They effectively represent parents and have changed laws in every state. I urge everyone to support them.

(The U.S. pressing this case is ironic noxious discrimination. Let’s deport Obama’s drunken illegal uncle instead.)

    BannedbytheGuardian in reply to janitor. | February 26, 2013 at 9:45 pm

    If you wish to donate to defend Germans then go for it. This case could open the door for German Muslims & communists who might like to opt out of the Evil German School Empire.

    Also what about families who don’t want their girls to go to school? Can they come over & thus keep the girls away from school?

    Maybe this is why the Feds are appealing.

“Nothing in the record suggests that the compulsory school attendance law was or will be enforced against the applicants because of their opposition to the law’s policy. Rather, the law is being enforced because they are violating it.”

Talk about conceding the issue.
Their violation is deliberate and based on their opposition to the law.
If it were an honest law it would be enforced because parents of children are subject to its jurisdiction.
To put enforcement on the fact of violation puts it in the category of arresting protestors at a political rally. Everybody’s hollering and screaming at the stage but some of that hollering is a violation to be enforced…

    BannedbytheGuardian in reply to Chris Balsz. | February 27, 2013 at 3:32 am

    I don’t quite understand your point.

    A nation has a right to expect certain things of its’s citizens. This is a traditional requirement for Germans& before them Prussians..

    This family has every right to leave Germany .Not stated is the visa conditions granted for entry / stay in the USA.

    But it has moved on to a political asylum request. I have worked on similar requests from Iranians with the opposite sides & these do have international repercussions & reciprocity. These can also be overlooked & approval granted . Perhaps the Admin thinks they no not want to upset Germany .

    Not that posters would care but it would be very difficult to mirror the many streams of German education at home – particularly the compulsory exams & the 4 streamings . The technical- trade- industrial path would be impossible . Free university is reliant on a sequence of exams & Pre qualifications. I doubt a home schooled child could pass all these to earn a place . The parents no doubt pay taxes but the children could not gain a free higher education .

    Germany also has an active compulsory military service. Should there be political asylum for those not wanting to go ?

    Sure give them asylum . Don’t think your enemies are not watching this also. China has a few million plants ready to go . Woe is them – compulsory state education!

The applicants have not shown that most homeschoolers share their religious beliefs……
It is clear that the applicants homeschool for religious reasons; however, for the foregoing reasons, they have not shown that their religion, their religious-based desire to homeschool, or their status as homeschoolers is a central reason that the compulsory school attendance law was or will be enforced enforced against them….
II. Whether the record compels the conclusion that Romeike belongs to a cognizable social group of homeschoolers where the group lacks social visibility and particularity.
Whoa there, the Immigration folks appear to be arguing that the Romieke’s don’t have standing because they are not part of a group therefore, as individuals, they must be deported. This smacks of collectivism. Individual rights who needs ’em.
We can’t have individuals running about freely thinking here

[…] Would they deport this family if they were from Mexico? […]

I hate to be the bad guy here, because I am a supporter of home schooling, but the fact is that like most Western European nations, Germany has a large and growing muslim minority…. in their case Turkish…. that has resisted efforts at assimilation.

I think the Romiekes should be allowed to stay in the US, but I would not be so quick to condemn European laws that attempt to compel immigrant minorities to assimilate, even if it was the nazis who put the law in place.

    9thDistrictNeighbor in reply to VRWC. | February 27, 2013 at 7:41 pm

    Germany invited Turks to come in as guest workers beginning in the ’60s and made it well-nigh impossible for them to get a German passport. The Turks lived as outsiders for so many years that when the Germans began to allow Turkish immigrants to apply for citizenship, many balked at the requirement that they relinquish Turkish citizenship. Add into the mix Muslims from other countries who view getting on the dole as a quality payback for the crusades and you have a mess. We don’t expect our “guest worker” equivalents to assimilate.

Their big mistake? Coming to the United States legally. Now they will be deported with all the force of the law. 15 million others who snuck in are about to be made citizens. The nation has lost it’s mind.

[…] I was shocked to discover today that homeschooling is illegal in Germany.  This has forced at least one family and potentially many others to flee the country so that they […]

I am surprised, you all know so much about Germany- are you all from there?
Well, I have nothing against this german family coming here legally and educating their children the way they choose.
However I am strongly opposed to this political asylum request.
I had to go through a stringent prolonged and tedious process in order to immigrate here legally.
Why not they?
What makes them so special?
Germany has no political or religious persecution- it is not a country they had to flee from. It was their choice to come here illegally.
They are using the homeschooling to circumvent the process for legal immigration.
All of you, who think that is ok- does that make it ok then for anyone to enter this country illegally?
I am appalled, that the HSLDA has gotten involved.
These people came here illegally and are trying to avoid deportation- that is all. Now then, let them go home and come back legally and then they can homeschool all they want.
Political asylum is not the right thing to do-they had a choice, they made the wrong choice- they should have come here legally.
I had to.

    Sanddog in reply to wildrose. | March 4, 2013 at 2:09 pm

    Did you come here because the state was persecuting you for not placing your children in state run educational facilities?

    Congrats on jumping through the hoops to come here via the regular process but it would have been nice if you’d left your collectivist mentality behind.

[…] William Jacobson at Legal Insurrection, we learn about the case of Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their […]

From: Reichchancellor
To: German Volk
Copy to: Deutscher Bundestag

Your children’s minds belong to the German state.