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German Family, Persecuted for Homeschooling, Granted Asylum In U.S.

By Howard M. Friedman

Yesterday's Washington Post reports that a couple who fled from Germany to Tennessee in order to home school their children have been granted political asylum by a U.S. immigration judge. Uwe Romeike and his wife argued that they were persecuted in Germany for their evangelical Christian beliefs and for homeschooling their children to avoid public schools whose curriculum they believed to be opposed to Christian values. German law requires children to attend public or private schools. When the Romeikes ignored orders to send their children to school, German police came to their home and took the children to school. In 2007, Germany's highest appellate court ruled that in severe cases children could be removed from their home. The asylum grant allows the Romeike's to remain in Morristown, TN, where they have lived since 2008. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman refused to comment on whether the government would appeal the immigration judge's decision.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 27, 2010 (boomark / email).