A German family that has lived in the United States for more than a decade after leaving their home country in order to legally home-school their children faces possible deportation next month, their supporters said.
The Romeikes — father Uwe, mother Hannelore, and their then-five children — fled Germany in 2009 over the country’s severe compulsory education laws, which effectively outlaw home schooling and require all children to attend school outside the home.
The evangelical Christian family has had two more children since arriving in the U.S. and made their home in Tennessee. The couple initially sought asylum from the federal government, claiming religious persecution from German authorities.
They were eventually granted indefinitely deferred action status by the Obama administration, allowing them to reside in the U.S. for more than a decade.
The Home School Legal Defense Association — a pro-home schooling nonprofit that has advocated the Romeikes’ case over the years — said in a release last week that during a recent “routine check-in” with immigration officials they were “told … that they had four weeks to secure passports and return to Germany.”
“The news came without warning, and with no apparent cause or explanation,” HSLDA said.
Kevin Boden, an attorney with HSLDA and the director of HSLDA International, told CNA that it is unclear what may or may not occur at next month’s meeting.
“They were basically given four weeks to come back,” Boden said. “They have a report date in October. They don’t know what is going to happen in that meeting. They don’t know if they’re going to be forced to leave. They don’t know if they’re going to be taken into custody.”
“‘Come back in four weeks and bring your passports,’” Boden added. “That combination is a little bit scary.”
The attorney said HSLDA is continuing to work with the family. The nonprofit group had originally helped litigate the family’s unsuccessful asylum attempt all the way to the Supreme Court; the court ultimately turned down the family’s appeal without hearing it. HSLDA is now pursuing a variety of options to secure the family’s continued status in the U.S.
“We’re working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through those legal channels,” Boden said. “We’re pursuing a petition to the White House, to the Biden administration.”
The group is also asking supporters to reach out to their congressional representatives to urge support for a bill from Tennessee Rep. Diana Harshbarger that would allow the family to claim permanent resident status.
“Those things would provide some impetus for the Romeikes to stay in the country, or at least give them a little bit of time,” he said.
The Romeikes did not respond to a request for comment. Reached via email, a spokesman for the Biden Department of Justice responded: “We respectfully decline to comment.” ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
The two eldest Romeike children have since married U.S. citizens; their eldest daughter, Lydia, has one child with her American husband. The family’s two youngest daughters, meanwhile, are U.S. citizens by birth.
Once a rare practice controlled heavily by state regulation, home schooling in the U.S. has expanded in recent decades due to the efforts of groups like the HSLDA.
It is legal in every state, with HSLDA listing the majority of states as having only “low” or “moderate” home school regulation.
Home schooling in Europe is much more tightly regulated. Many countries there outlaw it entirely, with others allowing it but only under strict guidelines.
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Legatus President Stephen Henley is pictured here speaking at the organization’s 2025 annual conference last month in Naples, Florida. / Credit: Courtesy of Legatus
Miami, Fla., Mar 13, 2025 / 07:20 am (CNA).
In today’s culture, often hostile to expressions of faith, many Catholics struggle with how to hold true to their values within the workplace. That’s why, in 1987, Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan started the Catholic organization Legatus.
From the Latin word for “ambassador,” Legatus aims to empower Catholic presidents, CEOs, and managing partners to become what St. Paul coined “ambassadors for Christ,” explained Stephen Henley, president of Legatus.
Offering peer support groups, networking, speakers, pilgrimages, and an annual international summit, Legatus’s goal is to “inspire members to live out their faith in all aspects of their life.” There are currently about 90 Legatus chapters in North America.
Chapter meetings are held once a month, providing the opportunity for members and their spouses to participate in confession and Mass, the recitation of the rosary, a cocktail reception dinner, and a speaker’s presentation.
“All of this is to help fortify the members’ marriage, the peer support group, the networking of this group, and then embolden them to go out and live their faith,” said Henley. “Tom felt that if we can bring together these Catholic CEOs, how much more can we change society with these people that have high impact and high influence?”
In interviews with Catholic News Agency, Hawkins, Dean Abela, and Henley covered three tips for bringing the Catholic worldview into the workplace.
Commit to your priorities
Dean Andrew Abela’s Catholic faith wasn’t always as important to him as it is now. As a teenager, he even stopped practicing.
“I came back in my mid-20s, funnily enough, while I was in business school,” he recalled. As a student in 1991, he encountered Pope John Paul II’s new encyclical letter Centesimus Annus, and the pope’s reflection on economics changed the trajectory of his life.
“Just a few months after, I returned to the Church,” he said. “When I reverted to the faith, I wanted to know what my newly rediscovered Catholic faith meant for a life in business.”
Andrew Abela is dean of the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America. Credit: Legatus
After working for companies including Procter & Gamble, McKinsey & Company, and the Corporate Executive Board, in 2002 Dean Abela eventually began teaching at the Catholic University of America. He is also a consultant to Fortune 100 corporations.
“The reason I left business and switched to academia was that I wanted to dedicate myself full-time to studying questions about what it means to be a faithful Catholic in the workplace,” he explained.
A member of Legatus since 2000, Dean Abela mentioned that members can follow what the organization terms a “spiritual plan” to attend daily Mass, recite the rosary daily, and do monthly confession.
Known as Tres Magna, or the “Big Three,” this plan was inspired by Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula, who “attributed the perfect season to him going to daily Mass,” explained Stephen Henley. “Tom [Monaghan] thought, well, if he can go, there’s no reason why I can’t go.”
“Daily Mass, daily rosary, and monthly confession will align your life and priorities,” added Henley.
Find a supportive community
When Kristan Hawkins first encountered Legatus, she was not a Catholic. Hawkins was raised an Evangelical. After Students for Life’s 2006 launch, she began speaking at Legatus events.
In 2014, Hawkins decided to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, “a pilgrimage Legatus had sponsored.” “I was the only Protestant there,” she recalled. “I decided there that I was going to enter RCIA.”
She became a full-fledged member of Legatus soon after becoming Catholic.
“As a pro-life activist who starts a pro-life organization, I want to save babies, I want to end abortion, I want to help as many families and women. You don’t start a non-profit because you’re necessarily a great business leader or have all these skills. You started this non-profit, this mission, because you want to see this mission accomplished,” Hawkins said. “For me, that’s one of the powerful benefits of being in Legatus, is having friends and mentors who were successful in the for-profit world who I can call on and ask questions.”
Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins. Credit: Legatus
“It’s very powerful and important to have those relationships. For me, in the work I’m doing, it’s a constant spiritual attack,” she added. “One of the best things about Legatus is I can call any of my Legatus friends at any moment, and they’ll be there for you. They know the power of the work we do and the resistance we face.”
Dean Abela also finds a sense of community in Legatus and also strives to build a supportive Catholic community at the Catholic University of America.
“We share with students the principles of Catholic social doctrine, things like human dignity and solidarity, and try to embed these principles into all of our classes,” he explained. “We’re also increasingly trying to give them opportunities to practice different virtues as part of their studies and schoolwork.”
For instance, Dean Abela explained, “To teach graduate students about decision-making, we go through a couple of survivor simulations, where you crash land in the north of Canada and you have to decide what you’re going to do. We have them go through decision-making exercises explicitly practicing the virtue of prudence or practical wisdom, the habit of making wise decisions. We break apart the components of practical wisdom, which include things like alertness, preparedness, and reasoning, and we have them try to exercise those as part of the decision-making process.”
These skills built in the classroom can be applied not only in business, but also in students’ personal lives.
Model the behavior you expect from others and celebrate your co-workers’ integrity
For Henley, giving authentic witness to the Catholic faith in the workplace can start with a simple “hello.”
“First, live the golden rule,” he said. “When you’re walking down the hall, say hello to the janitor, to the executive, and to everyone in between. It matters a lot.”
He added: “Another practical thing: take the opportunity to pray before meals. If you’re going on business lunches, you’ll be surprised at how many people say, ‘Yeah of course, let’s pray.’ It’s more common than not for people to pray before meals. The fact that you’re doing it shows that you’re a bold leader and that you’re spiritual.”
Dean Abela agrees that these types of habits make all the difference, and were the subject of the presentation he made of his book Superhabits: The Universal System for a Successful Life last month during the 2025 Legatus Summit.
“The main focus of the book is understanding that things like diligence, honesty, and resilience are not genetic characteristics. They are habits that anyone can acquire through practice,” Dean Abela explained. “Companies can focus on one of the most important virtues and give employees opportunities to practice those virtues.”
For instance, Dean Abela explained the GrowVirtue App, an AI-driven app “based on the work of the book,” which organizations can use to evaluate which virtues their company has already made a habit of, which virtues they might target, and tips for how to make progress.
“The important thing is that the company would choose a virtue that they think would be directly beneficial to the company right now,” said Dean Abela. “Although personal results are private, the whole company can see what employees as a whole are weakest in. So, if you’re trying to grow in customer service, you might encourage the virtue of friendship or friendliness.”
Dean Abela discussed the value of recognizing virtue both inside and outside the company.
“See examples in action or read about examples,” he suggested. “You can have employees watch videos or you can share articles that demonstrate examples of a particular virtue in action. And you can make sure senior folks are role models for junior employees.”
“Most importantly, give the employees the opportunity to practice the virtues, and give feedback,” he added. “When companies give awards, they tend to do this more with core values. They should shift to core virtues and give it to people who are exemplars of that virtue.”
Ultimately, the goal for Catholics is to live authentic lives that draw others to Christ.
“Stay true to who you are, don’t give in,” said Hawkins. “They’ll know you by your fruits. I think that’s very important. You don’t have to work in the pro-life movement or specifically in an apostolate to be a good Catholic, a faithful Christian in the workplace. You can do that in any job, in any position you have – in McDonald’s or in a Fortune 500 company.”
A young pro-lifer holds a sign that says “No human is a mistake” at the Colorado March for Life in Denver on Friday, April 11, 2025. / Credit: Kate Quiñones/CNA
CNA Staff, Aug 25, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).
When it comes to unborn life, only 19 sta… […]
14 Comments
A simple solution: the family should travel to Mexico, change their name to Hernandez, come back across the border and welcomed with open arms.
Well said. Absolutely stupid that they can come down on this family treatened with deportation when immigrants, illegals, drug cartel members are coming across the border for free. Why is that?? Maybe because they will be voters for the dumbocratic party!!
The suggested solution by Deacon Peitler could not be more appropriate and would certainly be successful. What is more, they would have instant access to all the perquesites accorded those, who, unlike the Romeikes, enter illegally and are given every incentive to do so. The plight of the Romeikes, must be put on I.C.E. Shame!
I don’t understand this. Why would a family with passports and legal status be deported? Is it because they sought asylum? That doesn’t make sense to me. Do they have jobs and support themselves in the U.S.? Are they breaking any laws in the U.S.? Thousands of people are coming into the U.S. without any passports or visas, and they are being allowed to remain here. This doesn’t make sense to me. Can someone explain? Thanks!
I was wondering about the legal status details also. They’ve been here for quite a few years & seems odd they don’t have a permanent residency established yet. Or perhaps they do & it’s being contested? If this is a political ploy by our current administration that’s really a terrible shame.
You’re expecting the Federal government to make any sense? To do the right thing? To not persecute people of faith? To not disdain families which are cohesive and open to new life? Who live their lives without being parasites on the government? Who obey the laws of the country they live in? Really?
I have low expectations of our government and if my immigration status was as tenuous as this German family’s I think I’d have been working on a permanent solution over the past decade or so. Or considered moving to Canada.
Ron,
You are saying what I and many others are thinking!!! Maybe have to go to Mexico and come in illegally? Like so many are….Biden is only for those that vote democrat….
I hope that’s not the case but either way I don’t think we should interject skin colour into the conversation. That always veers things off in the wrong direction. If this is a political move, shame on our govt. But maybe there are other things going on we’re unaware of.
If anyone doubts that there is a war on all that is good, true, and beautiful, in the USA, please read or share this article. That this law abiding, contributory family would undergo such egregious persecution while identifiable criminal immigrant intruders are known but ignored—if not placated— stuns the psyche.
A simple solution: the family should travel to Mexico, change their name to Hernandez, come back across the border and welcomed with open arms.
The political climate in the USA sucks.
Ok, more snark: They should have held up a rainbow flag in that family photo.
Well said. Absolutely stupid that they can come down on this family treatened with deportation when immigrants, illegals, drug cartel members are coming across the border for free. Why is that?? Maybe because they will be voters for the dumbocratic party!!
The suggested solution by Deacon Peitler could not be more appropriate and would certainly be successful. What is more, they would have instant access to all the perquesites accorded those, who, unlike the Romeikes, enter illegally and are given every incentive to do so. The plight of the Romeikes, must be put on I.C.E. Shame!
I don’t understand this. Why would a family with passports and legal status be deported? Is it because they sought asylum? That doesn’t make sense to me. Do they have jobs and support themselves in the U.S.? Are they breaking any laws in the U.S.? Thousands of people are coming into the U.S. without any passports or visas, and they are being allowed to remain here. This doesn’t make sense to me. Can someone explain? Thanks!
I was wondering about the legal status details also. They’ve been here for quite a few years & seems odd they don’t have a permanent residency established yet. Or perhaps they do & it’s being contested? If this is a political ploy by our current administration that’s really a terrible shame.
You’re expecting the Federal government to make any sense? To do the right thing? To not persecute people of faith? To not disdain families which are cohesive and open to new life? Who live their lives without being parasites on the government? Who obey the laws of the country they live in? Really?
I have low expectations of our government and if my immigration status was as tenuous as this German family’s I think I’d have been working on a permanent solution over the past decade or so. Or considered moving to Canada.
(Yes, I know this is snarky.) Under the current administration they are guilty of being too white and don’t vote the right way.
Ron,
You are saying what I and many others are thinking!!! Maybe have to go to Mexico and come in illegally? Like so many are….Biden is only for those that vote democrat….
I hope that’s not the case but either way I don’t think we should interject skin colour into the conversation. That always veers things off in the wrong direction. If this is a political move, shame on our govt. But maybe there are other things going on we’re unaware of.
But it is probably true
I have no idea what’s behind this but I would imagine if anything was in question it would be ideology. And I hope that’s not the case either.
If anyone doubts that there is a war on all that is good, true, and beautiful, in the USA, please read or share this article. That this law abiding, contributory family would undergo such egregious persecution while identifiable criminal immigrant intruders are known but ignored—if not placated— stuns the psyche.