The U.S. Government wants to deport this homeschool family

HSLDA: The Romeike Story

Romeike Update: I need your help!

November 7, 2013

Dear HSLDA members and friends,

On November 26 the Supreme Court will decide whether or not to hear our German homeschool asylum appeal, Romeike v. Holder.

Note: We have heard from some of our members who expressed concerns regarding our designation of Sunday as a fast day. We regret we did not offer a variety of days as an option to pray and fast for those from a diversity of liturgical traditions. Please feel free to choose an alternate day. Thanks be to our mighty God who invites us to approach His throne of grace with confidence and is faithful to provide mercy and grace in our time of need.

I am asking you to join me and thousands of others in a special day of prayer and fasting on November 17 to ask God for favor on behalf of this precious family.

In 2010, a federal immigration judge granted the Romeikes asylum. He recognized that, for this family, returning to Germany would mean certain persecution with outrageous fines, criminal prosecution, and—every parent’s worst nightmare—the physical seizure of their seven children just because they homeschool. This judge rightly said that America should be a refuge for those who are persecuted.

But the Obama Administration revoked their asylum protection in 2012. HSLDA appealed their case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In April 2013 a three-judge panel upheld the administration’s ruling and told the Romeikes that America would not be a shelter for them.

In Romeike v. Holder, we are asking the Supreme Court to uphold America as a place of refuge for those who are persecuted for their faith. I feel good about our argument, but we must all recognize that the Supreme Court takes a very limited number of cases—so please pray that the Court will agree to hear our appeal.

This is not the only important case being examined that day. The Justices will also decide whether to hear cases involving the strength of our constitutional religious freedoms in the ObamaCare-related cases, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood v. Sebelius.

Will you please join me on Sunday, November 17, asking God’s mercy on our nation, protection for religious freedom, and that the Supreme Court will hear the Romeike family’s appeal? They are, in my opinion, modern day pilgrims.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. May God bless you!

Michael P. Farris