The White House refused to comment earlier this week on a petition to grant asylum to a German family that fled to the United States seeking religious freedom, despite responding to other petitions in similar circumstances.
The White House claimed it "cannot" respond because the Romeike family’s case is currently being litigated in the court, even though the White House has responded to other petitions in the past that related to pending lawsuits.
The Romeike family fled Germany in 2008 after their government levied escalating fines against them for homeschooling their children according to their faith. The family’s lawyers started a petition on the White House’s website asking for President Barack Obama to grant the family asylum.
"To the extent that these petitions request a particular law enforcement or adjudicatory action, or address a matter before the courts, we cannot issue a comment," the White House’s response said.
"Homeschooling can provide young people with the resources and attention they need to succeed academically, and we understand why their parents value this freedom," the response said.
The White House has promised to respond to all petitions that receive over 100,000 signatures. The Romeike petition received 127,258, and the White House’s response came over four months after the petition received the requisite number of signatures.
The White House responded to a petition earlier this year requesting an end to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), even though a lawsuit over that law was pending before the Supreme Court.
This response even acknowledged the pending lawsuit in its response to the DOMA petition, noting that it argued against the law before the court. However, the administration was not a party to the lawsuit because it refused to defend the federal law, while it is a party in the Romeike case.
The Home School Legal Defense Association, which is representing the Romeike family, dismissed the response as insufficient.
"The petition process appears to be little more than yet another opportunity for the White House to push their agenda," said HSLDA chairman Michael Farris in a statement. "The White House response was neither timely, substantive, nor appropriate."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
After the family initially won asylum in the United States, the administration appealed and won the appeal, stripping the family of their asylum and requiring them to leave the country. The family’s subsequent appeals were denied, and the case is currently being appealed to the Supreme Court.
The principle of religious liberty protects the ability of parents to raise their children according to their faith, said Brian Walsh, executive director of the American Religious Freedom Program at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
"Whether the people seeking asylum are Sikhs, Jews, Christians, or Muslims, if they are not allowed to raise their children according to their own beliefs and if they are being indoctrinated contrary to their beliefs by the government … then that is a severe violation of freedom of religion and rights of conscience," Walsh said.
"The United States has a responsibility to maintain the highest standards of religious freedom and religious toleration in the world," Walsh said.