A German family sought asylum in the United States 15 years ago. They were being persecuted by their government for their deep faith in God and for homeschooling their children.
Now, without warning, the United States government says they must leave. No one will tell them why.
When Uwe and Hannelore Romeike decided to homeschool their five children, German authorities responded with fines and threats to seize custody of the children.
“In 2006, we began homeschooling our children in Germany,” Mr. Romeike told The Epoch Times. “Then we started getting in trouble with the authorities, the principal, the mayor, to the higher authorities. Then they started sending the police to take our children to school.”
Then came the fines.
“They want to ruin you financially and just force you into giving up and bringing your kids to school,” Mrs. Romeike added. “They just force you in whatever way works. Even before we left they changed the laws so that they could show up to your house without a court order and take your children. That was the last step. That’s when we decided we had to leave.”
Mr. Romeike recalled how other homeschooling parents were being arrested and thrown in jail.
“Their businesses were being closed,” he said.
Where It Began
The Romeike family lived in Bissingen in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg.
On Sept. 25, 2006, he confronted both parents, condemning their religious beliefs and demanding that their children attend the government school “or they would suffer consequences.”
On Oct. 6, 2006, the mayor of their town contacted the Romeikes by phone, belittling their faith and threatening “consequences” if they didn’t bring their children to the government school.
Two days later, he threatened to fine them the equivalent of $45 per child per day until they complied.
On Oct. 20, 2006, police officers entered their home and forcibly took the Romeikes’ children to the government school.
Three days later they tried to do it again, but a group of the family’s neighbors, fellow homeschooling families, and people from their church gathered outside their home to protest the action and prevented the authorities from taking the children.
On Oct. 24, 2006, the school principal threatened to report the Romeikes to the national Youth Welfare Office.
On Dec. 19, 2006, Mr. and Mrs. Romeike were each fined the equivalent of about $112 per school-aged child for the 22 days they had not attended the government school.
Between April 2007 and March 2008, the German government imposed additional fines in excess of $20,000.
The Romeikes tried to fight back through the German courts, but to claim the unpaid fines, officials began proceedings to seize their home, and they were going to take their children.
‘We’ve Lost Our Freedom Again’
The Romeikes have built a peaceful life in Tennessee, and they said they’ve followed all of the immigration rules.
“Then three weeks ago we were told to come back with our renewed German passports and be ready to self-remove by Oct. 11,” Mr. Romeike said. “They didn’t give us any reason why our status changed so we don’t really know what’s going on.”
“It is really hard to immigrate to America and become citizens right now, doing it the right way,” Mrs. Romeike said.
‘It Was Fear’
Asked why they homeschooled their children in Germany, Mr. Romeike said it was because they began noticing a change in their children after three years in the government school.“Their personalities changed,” he recalled. “They became withdrawn and depressed. They had headaches and stomachaches, which we couldn’t figure out with a physical reason.”
“It was fear,” Mrs. Romeike insisted.
“They were fearful to go to school because of violence and the bullying,” he added.
Then they saw the disturbing content of the school books.
Mr. Romeike described how the textbooks promoted “trusting in Satan rather than God,” and “disobedience to your parents and authority.”
“It was beyond any reason, and that was 15 years ago,” he said. “I don’t even want to know what’s in those books now.”
Kevin Boden, a staff attorney with the HSLDF, confirmed to The Epoch Times that no reason has been given for the sudden decision to deport the family.
“What we do know is there was a verbal discussion with the Romeikes, and instead of being told to come back in six or 12 months for a routine visit, they were told to come back in four weeks and to bring their passports with the purpose of self-deportation,” he said. “We don’t know why, or what level that came from.”
“We can speculate that it’s because they’re evangelical Christians, or it’s because they’re homeschoolers, or it’s because the German government wants this done and there’s some compliance with the Germans,” he suggested.
But at the end of the day, the fact is the family was told to return to immigration services and prepare to leave the country, Mr. Boden said.
“They arrived here lawfully. They’ve been here lawfully. They’ve complied with the law for 15 years,” Mr. Boden said. “They’ve been productive, contributing members of their community and they have two children who are American citizens. They’re just a delightful family, the type of family you or I would want in our neighborhood. They’re just quality people.”
“We want to stay here legally,” Mr. Romeike continued. “We came legally and that’s what we wanted to do and what we still want to do. We all have our work here. We are not dependent on the government. We pay our taxes. We just want to be left in peace.”
