The case was intended not only to help the Romeike family stay in a country where they can freely homeschool their children, but also to raise worldwide awareness of the restrictive German policies and to push reform in the German system.

A judge in Tennessee has granted asylum to a German family that came to the United States in order to homeschool their children.

In his decision, Lawrence O. Burman, a federal immigration judge, said that the family in question would face persecution were they to return to their home country—not only because of their religion, but also because they are “members of a particular social group” of parents who homeschool their children.

Homeschooling is illegal in Germany, and the German government imposes harsh penalties, including hefty fines, on those who insist on keeping their children out of school. Germany is one of the only remaining European countries that requires and enforces school attendance. It does not matter whether the school is public, private or religious; although health exemptions can be made, those based in philosophy or principal cannot be.

Uwe and Hannelore Romeike were fined a total of $11,000, threatened with losing custody of their children, and even visited by police, who took the children to school. This was before they sold their belongings and emigrated to the United States with their three children, who range in age from two to 12.

The Romeikes are devout Christians who had become unhappy with the atmosphere and curriculum of their two oldest children’s schools

READ MORE: http://www.legalinfo.com/legal-news/german-homeschoolers-granted-political-asylum-in-tennessee.html