Networks Never Covered German Home-School Family Plight

ABC, CBS, NBC ignored Romeike story.

Illegal immigration might be a hot topic for the media, but the networks remained mum when the government denied asylum to a German family seeking the freedom to educate their own children. 

Uwe and Hannelore Romeike, along with their children came to the United States in 2008, seeking political asylum because home-schooling is illegal in Germany. The family wants to homeschool due to its Christian beliefs. Obama’s U.S. Justice Department refused asylum status, and chose to defend its decision in litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by the Romeikes on March 3 which initially signaled a deportation for the family. Despite the win for the Obama Justice Department, ABC, CBS, and NBC have not mentioned the story. 

On March 4, the Romeike attorney and Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, Michael Farris, announced that “a Supervisor with the Department of Homeland Security called a member of our legal team to inform us that the Romeike family has been granted ‘indefinite deferred status.’” In other words, “the Romeikes can stay in the United States permanently (unless they are convicted of a crime, etc.).” 

Farris credited the success to, “those of who spoke up on this issue – including [through] that long ago White House petition. We believe that the public outcry made this possible while God delivered the victory.”

— Katie Yoder is Staff Writer, Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow in Culture and Media at the Media Research Center. Follow Katie Yoder on Twitter.