On radio this morning, Glenn discussed the story of the Romeike family, who were seeking asylum in the United States because their home country (Germany) does not allow homeschooling. For those unfamiliar with the case, the family moved to the U.S. in 2008 after facing fines and threats for refusing to send their children to a state-approved German school. The Romeikes believed Germany’s law violates international human rights standards. But the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected that claim last year under the guise that U.S. law does not grant asylum to “every victim of unfair treatment.” Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, and the family feared they would be deported.
"I warned you, this is not about the Romeike family," Glenn said earlier today. "This is about your family and your right. If this family does not have a right to be able to home school their kids, neither do you."
But, as it turns out, that was just the beginning. In a surprising turn of events, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which has represented the Romeike family throughout this entire ordeal, announced Tuesday afternoon that the family will now receive "indefinite deferred action status" - allowing them to stay in America.
According to the HSLDA website, the Department of Homeland Security verbally informed Home School Legal Defense Association that the Romeike family is being granted indefinite deferred action status. DHS told HSLDA the order of removal would not be acted on and that the Romeikes could stay in the United States.
In a statement, Uwe Romeike explained his family is relieved they will finally be able to live in peace even if it means they will not be American citizens in the near future:
“We are happy to have indefinite status even though we won’t be able to get American citizenship any time soon. As long as we can live at peace here, we are happy. We have always been ready to go wherever the Lord would lead us—and I know my citizenship isn’t really on earth. This has always been about our children. I wouldn’t have minded staying in Germany if the mistreatment targeted only me—but our whole family was targeted when German authorities would not tolerate our decision to teach our children—that is what brought us here. Our entire family is deeply grateful for all the support of our friends and fellow homeschoolers and especially HSLDA. I thank God for his hand of blessing and protection over our family. We thank the American government for allowing us to stay here and to peacefully homeschool our children—it’s all we ever wanted.”
Read the full report from HSLDA HERE.
On Tuesday's Glenn Beck Program, Michael Farris, chairman of HSLDA and president of ParentalRights.org, joined Glenn to talk about his experience representing the Romeikes and DHS' surprising decision to allow the family to stay in the U.S. Michael chose to sum up the situation quite simply: "I believe it is a miracle from God."
Check out the interview in the below: