U.S. Judges Seem Skeptical of German Homeschoolers' Request for Asylum

The Romeikes may lose their children if forced to return home

A German family should be granted asylum in the U.S. because their s native government is denying a fundamental human right by preventing them from homeschooling their children, attorney Michael Farris told a three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday (April 23) in Cincinnati.

But the judges suggested that they may not grant asylum, arguing that mistreatment by the German government is not tantamount to persecution and not necessarily a ground for allowing the family to remain in America.

The family, devout Christians Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their five children, fled Germany in 2008 after facing heavy fines and the threat of losing custody of the children unless they attended school. The Romeikes have since had a sixth child and expect a seventh in June. They were granted asylum by an immigration judge in 2010, but the Obama administration appealed the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals and won.