America Used To Be A Beacon Of Freedom

The Blaze is reporting today that the German family seeking political asylum in the United States because they want to homeschool their children will take their case to the Supreme Court.

An immigration judge granted the Romeike family asylum in 2010, but the U.S. government appealed. An immigration appeals board sided with the government, and the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals last week denied the family’s request for a new hearing.

The Home School Legal Defense Association is representing the family and has stated that they will take the case to the Supreme Court.

The article reports:

“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 (Home School Legal Defense Association founder Michael Farris) said. “The attorney general and Sixth Circuit are ignoring critical evidence and are trying to send back this family who is trying to stay in our country legally. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will go the other way and see what the original immigration judge saw: that this family and other religious homeschoolers in Germany are being persecuted for what they believe is the right way to raise their children.”

These are exactly the kind of people who should be granted asylum in the United States. Hopefully the Supreme Court will take the case and grant the Romeike family the freedom they are seeking.

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America Used To Be A Place Of Sanctuary For The Persecuted

Yesterday the Washington Free Beacon posted a story about Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, German parents who sought to home school their children in Germany. They felt that the curriculum in the public schools was in conflict with their Christian beliefs.

The article reports the challenges they faced in Germany:

German law mandates that children attend a public or state-approved school. The local mayor informed the family that they would face fines and could lose the custody of their children if they did not attend school. The parents also faced potential jail time.

The government fined the family heavily and at one point seized the children to force them to attend school.

In 2008 the Romeike family left Germany and moved to Tennessee. There they sought asylum in the United States. An immigration judge granted it to them, citing a well-founded fear of persecution if they returned to Germany.

Unfortunately, the happy ending did not last–the article reports:

However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), appealed the ruling to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

The board overturned the original judge’s ruling and ordered the Romeikes deported to Germany. The Romeikes appealed their case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, where their case will be heard April 23.

At issue is whether the German law constitutes persecution against Christians for their faith, qualifying them for asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

I am having a hard time understanding this. At the same time the Obama Administration seems to be willing to let anyone enter the country illegally and become a citizen, they are closing the door to a family genuinely seeking asylum. America used to be a beacon of freedom in the world.  I fear that we have forgotten our roots.

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