Family faces deportation 15 years after fleeing Germany to homeschool kids in US
Attorney Kevin Boden and parents Hannelore and Uwe Romeike, who face deportation 15 years after moving to the U.S. to homeschool their children, join 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to discuss the ordeal.
Uwe and Hannelore Romeike face a devastating predicament as their family faces deportation after 15 years of making a home for themselves in East Tennessee.
"They did not tell us anything. We don't really know why [this is happening]. We wonder ourselves because we can't understand," Uwe Romeike told ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ on Sunday.
Originally from Germany, the Romeike family fled to the U.S. after being fined for homeschooling their children in their mother country. Five years later, their asylum claim was denied, with authorities claiming they weren't persecuted.
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The Romeike family faces deportation 15 years after fleeing Germany to homeschool their kids in the U.S. (FOX & Friends Weekend/Screengrab)
"The goal in Germany is for an open, pluralistic society," the Justice Department wrote in a legal brief at the time. "Teaching tolerance to children of all backgrounds helps to develop the ability to interact as a fully functioning citizen in Germany."
Their stay was indefinite, however, until now.
"[Homeschooling] is illegal [in Germany]," Hannelore Romeike explained. If they are sent back, they will face the same persecution as before.
Initially, an immigration judge found the Romeike family's asylum claim appropriate.
Attorney Kevin Boden said the family has lived in the U.S. legally for 15 years and would like to remain in their Tennessee home. (Fox & Friends Weekend/Screengrab)
"They found that the Romeike family did have a well-founded fear of persecution based on their participation in a particular social category, that being homeschoolers," Kevin Boden, an attorney representing the family, said.
"The Obama administration appealed that to the Board of Immigration Appeals. That appeal court agreed with them, as did the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court denied it…. We think this is, in fact, an asylum case. We do think they have a well-founded fear as we testified…
"I can tell you today, I talked to families today that have fear in Germany and the fight there, the persecution there, is very real today as it was 15 years ago," Boden continued.
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The Romeike family can stay in the U.S. and have done so for the past 15 years legally, Boden said, adding that the Biden administration and federal agencies can make it happen.
"We're asking them to simply do just that," he said.
"Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Pete Hegseth said FOX News reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for comment, but did not hear back in time for the segment.
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