By Cheryl Wetzstein
A German home-schooling family that was facing deportation by U.S. authorities will be permitted to stay here indefinitely, the leader
of a national home-school support group said Tuesday.
“This is an incredible victory that I can only credit to Almighty God,” Michael Farris, chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), said on the group’s website Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. Farris said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) verbally informed his office that Uwe and Hannelore Romeike and their six children were being granted indefinite deferred-action status.
This means “the order of removal would not be acted on” and the Romeikes, who live in Tennessee, can stay in America, HSLDA said.
Calls to the DHS to confirm the status were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Mr. Romeike said Tuesday he was extremely grateful for the support his family has received from Americans.
“As long as we can live at peace here, we are happy,” he said. “I wouldn’t have minded staying in Germany if the mistreatment targeted only me, but our whole family was targeted when German authorities would not tolerate our decision to teach our children. That is what brought us here.”