German homeschoolers granted political asylum
By TRAVIS LOLLER
The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 26, 2010; 8:33 PM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A German couple who fled to Tennessee so they could homeschool their children was granted political asylum Tuesday by a U.S. immigration judge, according to the legal group that represented them.
The decision clears the way for Uwe Romeike (roh-MY-kee), his wife and five children to stay in Morristown, Tenn., where they have been living since 2008. Romeike says his family was persecuted for their evangelical Christian beliefs and for homeschooling their children in Germany, where school attendance is compulsory.
When the Romeikes wouldn't comply with repeated orders to send the children to school, police came to their home one October morning in 2006 and took the children to school. German state constitutions require children to attend public or private schools and parents can face fines or prison time if they don't comply.
In November 2007, Germany's highest appellate court ruled that, in severe cases, social services officials could remove children from their parents.
After that decision, Romeike said, "We knew we had to leave the country."
"During the last 10-20 years the curriculum in public schools has been more and more against Christian values," he said of his decision to teach his children at home.
The U.S. government can appeal the asylum ruling. A spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment in an e-mail.
The ruling was issued by Immigration Judge Lawrence Burman in Memphis, said Mike Donnelly, an attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association. The judge's opinion was not immediately available...
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