Trace Bates 3

[GreenBeans]

12 hours ago, Mar said:

I just read the petition and the first two sentences already make me angry. “The Romeikes are a homeschool family forced to flee Germany. They were being persecuted because of their religious conviction that they should be the ones directing their children’s education.” 

Forced to flee Germany? They were being persecuted? That is SO ridiculous that I can’t believe how anyone can believe it’s true.

This.

If your religion consists of so much indoctrination that children going to a private faith-based school would somehow disturb that indoctrination, then the issue is not persecution. The issue is you are indoctrinating your kids and denying them a proper education, a key element of which is being exposed to opinions and world views different from those of your family. 

[Smash!]

Well I feel some dort of schadenfreude. The policies they vote for are biting them in the ass. 

I believe they went to the US because even tough other European countries allow homeschooling their views are seen as extreme in Europe. While in The States their Christian extremism is kind of mainstream in some places.

[Melissa1977]

On 9/22/2023 at 1:16 PM, llucie said:

I dont think the homeschool laws in Germany make exceptions for foreigners but i highly doubt they will be charged upon returning. Since those kids were never registered in germany at all i doubt authorities will even notice if they are being homeschooled or not

I may be wrong about Germany, but usually in European countries once you move to a town, you must go to the town hall or goverment office to say you and your kids live there (many red tape problems if you don't do it). Then, of course, children must go to school, no matter if you are a foreigner. I suppose you can move and tell nobody, but children not going to school would be detected and it's a big deal. 

Edited September 23, 2023 by Melissa1977
Add info

[llucie]

37 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

I may be wrong about Germany, but usually in European countries once you move to a town, you must go to the town hall or goverment office to say you and your kids live there (many red tape problems if you don't do it). Then, of course, children must go to school, no matter if you are a foreigner. I suppose you can move and tell nobody, but children not going to school would be detected and it's a big deal. 

I dont know about Germany, but i used to follow a homeschooling family blog here in Spain, back in the day when blogging was a thing, and they said if the children were already in school and you pulled then out authorities would notice and come visit, but if you never put the kids in school in the first place then nothing would happen unless a person denounced you to the police. I think probably the town hall authorities where you have to register and the school authorities dont comunicate to each other.

[JDuggs]

If Lydia and Trace hurry back to Germany, maybe they could hang out with Ben Seewald’s sister Jessica at Oktoberfest. (I know she’d have a beer in her hand if she wasn’t pregnant.)

Spoiler

 

[gobucks]

Birth vlog~ Check in at midnight 38 weeks for induction due to slow growth/placenta. 2 rounds of "pills" to dilate through the night. Kelly Jo and Josie arrive in the morning. Foley bulb in the morning. Josie does her makeup. Video jumps to heavy contractions from pitocin, some zofran, and nausea/vomiting. She gets up trying to move around/bounce on ball to help. Her mom arrives, slowly patting her head, talking softly, very calming. Trace says she is such a strong woman, a super woman for enduring this pain. She gets the epidural around 3:30 pm at 3 cm. She is back to nausea and vomiting. 6:00 pm 5 cm and broken water. Josie takes more photos and videos. 9:30 pm 10 cm. She pushes and they say "He's here! Happy Birthday!". Fade to black... See you next week! Dragging it out for sure. 

[SorenaJ]

The actual nerve and audacity of these people. You made the bed, now lie in it. I hope they get deported. I feel sorry for Germany though.
 

Rules still apply even if you are white and Christian. This is what happens when you vote for Trump. 

[GreenBeans]

22 minutes ago, SorenaJ said:

The actual nerve and audacity of these people. You made the bed, now lie in it.

And, by the way, most asylum seekers would gladly be deported to Germany. They act like they’re being sent into a war zone. 

[lumpentheologie]

1 hour ago, GreenBeans said:

And, by the way, most asylum seekers would gladly be deported to Germany. They act like they’re being sent into a war zone. 

Yes. I can’t get over how selfish the parents are, clogging up the asylum system and taking resources away from people who are fleeing war and devastation in their home countries, people whose lives and children’s lives are actually in danger. 

It’s not that hard for Germans to migrate legally to the US, compared to people from many other countries. They could have figured out how to come to the US quietly through a work visa or something similar, without endangering their family’s stability. But no, they’re Persecuted Godly Christians and need asylum!

[Mar]

1 hour ago, GreenBeans said:

And, by the way, most asylum seekers would gladly be deported to Germany. They act like they’re being sent into a war zone. 

This! The nerve to claim they’re refugees when they’re from Germany. I just can’t.

[JermajestyDuggar]

It looks like Fox News is talking about them. No surprise there. 
 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/family-faces-deportation-15-years-115553402.html

[freethemall]

This is such a fascinating case, especially for those of us who work in the refugee/immigrant world.

While I don't feel bad in comparison to others in sadder situations, I do feel bad across the board that there are thousands of immigrants across the US who build their lives here and then are kicked out so easily by an immigration system that couldn't care less. It sucks in every situation, no matter how we feel about their views, especially for the kids. It's sad when the kids suffer for their parent's choice, however justified or not. I feel most bad for Lydia dealing with this with a newborn, because I would feel bad for any new mother dealing with any stress even if I don't like them. But also as I said before, Trace and Lydia should have made better immigration decisions themselves when they were engaged and not counted on the family's living here so many years as reliable.

[JDuggs]

Lydia posted about how things have been going with Ryker. He was losing weight, so the pediatrician recommended an every 2.5 hour feeding schedule. He just went over 7 lbs so that was good. He was jaundiced earlier, but that’s cleared up. They had him in the ER a couple of days ago because they were worried about his oxygen levels. He tested negative for covid and RSV and they decided it was a cold. He’s doing better.

It’s like they don’t really understand that exposing their baby to multiple people when he’s still just a newborn could possibly be the reason he’s sick.

[gobucks]

50 minutes ago, JDuggs said:

Lydia posted about how things have been going with Ryker. He was losing weight, so the pediatrician recommended an every 2.5 hour feeding schedule. He just went over 7 lbs so that was good. He was jaundiced earlier, but that’s cleared up. They had him in the ER a couple of days ago because they were worried about his oxygen levels. He tested negative for covid and RSV and they decided it was a cold. He’s doing better.

It’s like they don’t really understand that exposing their baby to multiple people when he’s still just a newborn could possibly be the reason he’s sick.

Just imagine, possibly in a week or 2, a transatlantic flight! 

[libgirl2]

On 9/24/2023 at 3:07 AM, lumpentheologie said:

It’s not that hard for Germans to migrate legally to the US, compared to people from many other countries. They could have figured out how to come to the US quietly through a work visa or something similar, without endangering their family’s stability. But no, they’re Persecuted Godly Christians and need asylum!

I have a longtime friend who lives here. She is from Germany and her husband France. They moved out here to work at the US location for the company they work at. 

[noseybutt]

On 9/23/2023 at 3:50 AM, Smash! said:

Well I feel some dort of schadenfreude. The policies they vote for are biting them in the ass. 

I believe they went to the US because even tough other European countries allow homeschooling their views are seen as extreme in Europe. While in The States their Christian extremism is kind of mainstream in some places.

They came to the US because of the help and support and encouragement of HSLDA who wanted a high profile case.

9 hours ago, freethemall said:

This is such a fascinating case, especially for those of us who work in the refugee/immigrant world.

While I don't feel bad in comparison to others in sadder situations, I do feel bad across the board that there are thousands of immigrants across the US who build their lives here and then are kicked out so easily by an immigration system that couldn't care less. It sucks in every situation, no matter how we feel about their views, especially for the kids. It's sad when the kids suffer for their parent's choice, however justified or not. I feel most bad for Lydia dealing with this with a newborn, because I would feel bad for any new mother dealing with any stress even if I don't like them. But also as I said before, Trace and Lydia should have made better immigration decisions themselves when they were engaged and not counted on the family's living here so many years as reliable.

So much this.

The case is maddening because of how politicized it was with HSLDA attempting to define a new class of “people group” for asylum law, Christian homeschoolers. It was bogus and a political stunt and an affront to asylum seekers with legitimate claims.

But.

The choices were made by Lydia’s parents, not her. Deporting her makes zero sense. 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by noseybutt

[JDuggs]

I’m okay with Trace and Lydia going to Germany, getting this sorted out and coming back legally if that’s what the U.S. government decides. I don’t think she should be allowed to skip steps. If she had a career here or was in college here, I might feel differently.

[noseybutt]

On 9/24/2023 at 1:07 AM, lumpentheologie said:

Yes. I can’t get over how selfish the parents are, clogging up the asylum system and taking resources away from people who are fleeing war and devastation in their home countries, people whose lives and children’s lives are actually in danger. 

It’s not that hard for Germans to migrate legally to the US, compared to people from many other countries. They could have figured out how to come to the US quietly through a work visa or something similar, without endangering their family’s stability. But no, they’re Persecuted Godly Christians and need asylum!

Per the bolded, I'm not sure that's accurate. Work visas are not simple and generally required skilled training (eg engineering) which her father did not have. 

They could have tried the lottery.

IMO they had terrible, awful no good legal advice from HSLDA. In 2013 there were plenty of homeschool tolerant countries they could have chosen from within the EU (such as Austria, Ireland, etc). 

I whole heartedly agree that clogging up the asylum system and demanding resources from true refugees is appalling. It's interesting to hear them talk though---they are a walking, talking billboard for immigration reform. Ha! 

For what it's worth, immigration has changed very very little under Biden. The Biden Administration has adopted most of the Trump policies with a few rare exceptions. And then they have thrown in their own procedural policies that are quite nightmarish. Which is to say....it's a bit disingenuous to blame the US immigration mess on Trump voters. I mean, I do blame them in the sense that purposefully dividing the country over every little social issue makes it so that we can't seem to move forward on anything. And I do blame them for the rash of horrible Trump appointed immigration judges. But current immigration policy is quite deplorable for both parties. 

 

[HarryPotterFan]

On 9/22/2023 at 5:47 PM, Mar said:

Forced to flee Germany? They were being persecuted? That is SO ridiculous that I can’t believe how anyone can believe it’s true. 
 

I had to come here when I heard about this. Because MY GRANDMA AND HER FAMILY WERE FORCED TO FLEE GERMANY. Because you know, it wasn’t the friendliest place to Jews for a while there. Like holy shit. They have NO IDEA what persecution actually is.

[rebeccawriter01]

2 hours ago, HarryPotterFan said:

I had to come here when I heard about this. Because MY GRANDMA AND HER FAMILY WERE FORCED TO FLEE GERMANY. Because you know, it wasn’t the friendliest place to Jews for a while there. Like holy shit. They have NO IDEA what persecution actually is.

My great-grandmother fled and had to leave everyone else in her family (at that time) behind. I don't think she ever worried about the little stuff like educating your kids at home. 

Lydia's in a tough spot. I don't think she should be banned re-entry. However, I do think she is a prime example of someone who needs to go through the process. She has the privilege of that being an option.

[GreenBeans]

10 hours ago, JDuggs said:

It’s like they don’t really understand that exposing their baby to multiple people when he’s still just a newborn could possibly be the reason he’s sick.

He’s like two weeks old. At that age our son hadn’t been anywhere, and the only person he had met besides me and my husband was the midwife visiting us at home. Even grandparents only visited after a couple of weeks. Granted, it was in 2020 during Covid, but even without Covid, there’s no way we would have exposed him to so many people (including kids with germy hands) so early on.

Edited September 26, 2023 by GreenBeans

[marmalade]

Two days out of the ER and they take him to soccer practice with Zach's kids and a few younger Bateses. Brilliant! 🙄

[Smash!]

11 hours ago, noseybutt said:

The choices were made by Lydia’s parents, not her. Deporting her makes zero sense. 

Yet Lydia and Trace are adults. They knew she doesn‘t have permanent residence. Probably they thought marrying would solve that. But that goes for so many people who think they can just stay with their American boyfriend/girlfriend after the 90 days are over. When they get married an run into problems with immigration the tone is usually „you should have informed yourself how immigration works before deciding to stay here“. 

Yes, Lydias parents made a horrible decision but she is an adult.

[CarrotCake]

On 9/23/2023 at 12:50 PM, Smash! said:

Well I feel some dort of schadenfreude. The policies they vote for are biting them in the ass. 

I believe they went to the US because even tough other European countries allow homeschooling their views are seen as extreme in Europe. While in The States their Christian extremism is kind of mainstream in some places.

And the countries in Europe that permit homeschooling are the mainly Catholic countries while the Protestant countries mostly have more restrictions.

[Kiki03910]

1 hour ago, CarrotCake said:

And the countries in Europe that permit homeschooling are the mainly Catholic countries while the Protestant countries mostly have more restrictions.

The stupidity of this group is infinite, and yet also somehow expanding like the universe at an ever-increasing rate.

6 hours ago, marmalade said:

Two days out of the ER and they take him to soccer practice with Zach's kids and a few younger Bateses. Brilliant! 🙄

The stupidity of this group is infinite, and yet also somehow expanding like the universe at an ever-increasing rate.

OH MY GOD HOW DO I EDIT. Normally I'm quite tech-savvy. Sorry, guys!