When You are Not the "Right" Kind of Immigrant

     We know that America is like no other place on earth. Part of the reason America is a special place is that we are a nation of immigrants. Those who came before us brought their customs, culture, food, religious practices, and much more with them. All those ingredients blended into an amazing one-of-a-kind stew that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. But we are more than all those things. We often hear that America is an idea, the idea that freedom and liberty are important above all else. For centuries, people have come here from all over the world precisely seeking those things, freedom, and liberty. But now, we see daily record-breaking numbers of people who don’t bother to come here legally. They break into the country as if breaking into someone’s house, and then expect to be handed all our possessions. We don’t hear about those who still come here legally and stay legally and have legitimate reasons to want to be here. Somehow, they don’t count.

     Uwe and Hannelore Romeike are experiencing what it’s like not to count, not to be the “right” kind of immigrants. Uwe, Hannelore and their five children fled Germany in 2008. As devout Christians, they wanted to be able to homeschool their children according to their values and beliefs. However, in Germany, homeschooling is illegal. The reasons why are another topic for another day. They were threatened with prosecution if they remained in Germany. They came to the U.S. and settled in eastern Tennessee and filed for asylum. As might be expected, the Obama administration was not too fond of homeschoolers. Must be all that money Democrats get from the teachers’ union. Not only were the Romeikes homeschoolers, but they were Christians, and not from Mexico or South America. Initially, their asylum claim was approved, but the Obama administration challenged the initial ruling. In 2013, their asylum claim was denied.

But in 2014, through the Department of Homeland Security, they have been allowed to live in the U.S. under something called an “indefinite deferred action status.” Now, however, as literally millions stream across the U.S. southern border, with no identification, and no way for U.S. authorities to determine who they are, the Romeikes, who are not American citizens, but are upstanding, hardworking, law-abiding people who contribute to their community, were told earlier this month, they must return to Germany. When they began to check into the change in their status, they were simply told their status had been revoked and they had four weeks to apply for German passports.

     Here is where things get even more complicated, and unfortunately, are in the hands of an incompetent Biden administration. Kevin Boden is the Romeikes’ attorney. He says that the Justice Department did determine that, based on their status as homeschoolers, the Romeikes had a well-founded fear that they would be prosecuted if they returned to Germany. It is also not just so easy to pack up and go back to Germany. Since the Romeikes have lived in the U.S., they have two more children, who are American citizens. Two of their oldest children have married American citizens and have children of their own, also American citizens. The laws have not changed in Germany regarding homeschooling. If they returned to Germany, they would still face prosecution. The Romeikes and their attorney are hoping that since the executive branch has stepped in to help before, they will do it again.

   

  There is just one question in all of this, what about this situation, is any different than the one that plays out every day at the southern border? Millions have come to America and given birth to children who are now American citizens, and the argument from the left is that you cannot split up families. Are the Romeikes expected to take their American-born children “back” to a country they don’t know because it is not their country? And what about the children who have married American spouses? Why does this seem to be a no-brainer at the border, but in this case, not so much?

     One glaring reason would be because the Romeikes are Christians. For all of Joe Biden’s bloviating about being such a devout Catholic, wasn’t it Biden’s own Department of Justice, who decided that “traditional Catholics” were the equivalent of domestic terrorists? It is no secret that Christians are a problem for Democrats and the Biden administration. But not the kind that are filing in across the Rio Grande, just the kind that might come from Europe, we already have too many of those. The Romeikes other problem, while they are not citizens, and therefore do not vote, other than their asylum snafu, they are not people dependent on the government, and could not be easily persuaded to continue to vote for a particular party. The consensus of the Biden administration is no doubt, that if they are Christians, they would vote Republican.  

     Currently, the Romeikes face an avalanche of uncertainty as to whether the Biden administration will move forward with deportation orders. If the orders go through, they will have to uproot 15 years of their and their children’s lives, for the younger children, the only place they have ever lived. The Romeikes came to America because they thought they would have the freedom to educate their children the way they think is best. Ironically, they are fighting the same battle as scores of American parents who send their children to public schools. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association, in addition to representing the Romeikes, is also circulating a petition to keep homeschoolers from being sent back to countries where they will be prosecuted for their activities.

     It is truly a sad thing for immigrants to be disillusioned by America. Hannelore Romeike summed up her disillusion this way, “We try to do it the right way. And we don’t get to stay here, or to immigrate for 15 years, we fight for that right and it seems there are two faces to this administration.”