A Christian family of nine, who fled persecution in Germany and moved to the United States back in 2008, have been facing deportation pressure from the Biden administration, but have reportedly been given a one-year stay of removal.
The Romeike family, who now reside in Tennessee, left Germany after they were being fined for choosing to homeschool their children. The Christians were abruptly notified in September that their family should prepare to self-deport, and return in four weeks with their German passports, The Daily Wire reported. The family fears persecution if they are forced to return to Germany, where homeschooling is rarely permitted and only for medical reasons.
A source told Fox News on Tuesday that the family has a one-year reprieve from deportation. The move follows a public outcry over the case, which included GOP lawmakers petitioning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to halt the deportation.
“We are asking you and your office to give this family a chance to continue building their lives in Tennessee,” a letter from numerous Tennessee lawmakers asked ICE Deputy Director Patrick J. Lechleitner, Fox noted. “It is our understanding a court has ruled they are allowed to stay indefinitely, as long as they fulfill their obligation of checking in as ordered by ICE. To our knowledge they have been faithful in doing so.”
During an interview with The Daily Wire, the patriarch of the family, Uwe Romeike, said he was surprised when an immigration agent told them about their potential deportation.
“We did not expect anything like this,” he said, adding, “We still trust God to make a way for us to stay here. I know it’s kind of impossible, but that’s where we know God can still do the impossible.”
The family was hit with major fines when they decided to pull their then-five children from German public schools and begin homeschooling, back in 2006. The government reportedly levied fines that amounted to around $9,000 and threatened to remove the Romeike children from the care of their parents.
The couple, who had two more children after moving to the United States, were granted permission by an immigration judge to live in the country. After the Obama administration’s Department of Justice fought the decision, the family took the fight to the courts, which ultimately ruled against them in 2013, arguing that the Romeikes did not prove that they faced persecution in Germany.
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While the appeals court judge ruled against the Romeikes’ asylum claims, the family was allowed to remain in the United States indefinitely, and they checked in annually with an immigration agent. September 2023 was the first time the family was threatened with deportation at one of the check-ins.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report