A German family that has lived in Tennessee since 2008 was recently ordered to be deported from the U.S. after an appeals court declined their asylum case. The Romeike family fled Germany in order to homeschool their children. The German government does not allow parents the choice to homeschool for religious reasons. The Romeike family are Orthodox Christians and did not want their children taught in public schools.
Since settling in Tennessee, the Romeike family has thrived. The couple, who brought five children from Germany, have since given birth to two more who are now U.S. citizens but would be caught up in the deportation of their parents because they are minors. Two of the couple’s children are now adults and are married. They would not be subject to deportation.
The case originated in the Obama administration, which sought to expel the family since the reason for seeking asylum was considered not to be a valid fear. During the Trump administration, the federal government was ordered to focus on deporting illegal immigrants who violated the laws of the country, not people who were simply minding their own business.
All that changed when Joe Biden became president. While at once preaching open borders policies and welcoming millions of illegal immigrants, more than 200 of whom are known terrorists, his administration again began deporting people other than illegal immigrants.
This week, following a petition that was signed by thousands, Homeland Security backed down and issued a deferred action status to the family that will allow them to remain in the U.S. until October 2024. Efforts to prevent the family from being deported even include a bill sponsored by Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) that would allow the family to stay permanently and would provide a pathway to full citizenship.
While the Biden administration focuses its efforts on deporting law-abiding families, millions of illegal immigrants are being granted asylum without any investigation. In many cases, the people seeking asylum are drug mules, human traffickers, and even terrorists. Just this year, Border Patrol has arrested 160 known terrorists at the southern border.
My statement on the Romeike family đŸ‘‡ pic.twitter.com/J40DYrVBhD
— Rep. Diana Harshbarger (@RepHarshbarger) October 6, 2023
Rampant illegal immigration is only beginning to get attention from Democrats, many of whom are seeing the degradation of their cities as thousands of unskilled, penniless immigrants are arriving every week seeking sanctuary. Violent crimes and property crimes are becoming more common in places like New York City and Chicago, both of which billed themselves as Sanctuary Cities but are now facing nearly insurmountable costs to house, cloth, and feed illegal immigrants who are unable to legally get jobs.
The patriarch of the Romeike family is a piano accompanist at a Tennessee school. One of the children married reality TV star Trace Bates. These are hardly the type of people the administration should be focusing efforts to deport while overlooking the hundreds of murders and drug dealers who are streaming unchecked across the border every day.
