ICC Note: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has signaled it will allow the Romeike family to stay in the U.S. only days after the Supreme Court rejected to hear their case for asylum. The family fled German several years ago when faced with legal challenges for attempting to home-school their children according to their Christian belief system. Home-schooling in Germany has been illegal since legislation created under the Nazi regime mandated that all German children attend public schools. The announcement by DHS comes as a relief to rights groups and the Romeike family, who faced heavy fines and the loss of their children if they were forced to return to Germany. The Obama administration had previously argued that their case did not qualify as one of religious persecution. 
3/4/2014 United States (Fox News) – A German home-schooling family facing deportation following the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear their appeal is being allowed to stay in the U.S.
The Department of Homeland Security has granted the family “indefinite deferred status,” their attorney confirmed to Fox News.
That means the Romeike family, who claim the German government is persecuting them because they want to raise their children in accordance with their Christian beliefs, can stay in the United States without the threat of being forced return to their home country, the family’s legal team told Fox News.
The family moved to Morristown, Tenn., in 2008 after facing fines and threats for refusing to send their kids to a state-approved school in Germany, which is required by law in that country. If the Romeikes had stayed in Germany, they risked losing custody of their children.
Initially, the family was granted asylum in 2010 based on religious freedom grounds, but the Obama administration decided to appeal that decision, and won. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the family’s appeal.
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