Immigration judge halts deportation of high school student

The 18-year-old wants to graduate first.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The deportation of a northwest Ohio high school student trying to stay in the United States until he graduates was halted Friday by an immigration judge.
Judge Wayne Iskra, with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., granted Manuel Bartsch's request to allow him to stay in the country at least until he can have a hearing before an immigration court, Bartsch's attorney, David Leopold, told The Associated Press.
Bartsch will remain jailed at least until a bond hearing scheduled Wednesday in Cleveland, Leopold said.
Born in Germany
Bartsch, 18, who came to the U.S. on a 90-day visa with his step-grandfather in 1997, had been living in Gilboa, a small village about 60 miles south of Toledo, thinking he was a U.S. citizen. He was born in Esselbach, Germany.
Bartsch, who was jailed in Bedford Heights near Cleveland last week after discovering that his grandfather never completed paperwork to make his stay legal, pleaded with immigration officials to allow him to complete two credits he needs to get his diploma.
Instead, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Detroit said he would be deported within 90 days because the three-month pass he had to be in this country had expired.
Leopold, an immigration law expert and professor at Case Western Reserve University, said Friday's ruling stems from his request last week to the immigration court to stay any deportation so that Bartsch would remain in the United States while the lawyer disputes deportation.
Bartsch's attorney argues that he is in the country legally because the U.S. let him return years ago after he and his grandfather visited Canada.
Wants to graduate
Bartsch wants to stay in the United States until he graduates with his friends this spring at Pandora-Gilboa High School in Putnam County, then return to Germany.
"I'm feeling pretty good at the moment," Leopold said. "This is big. They had the papers to move him. I understand they had travel documents. They could have moved him today."
Bartsch's step-grandfather -- a U.S. citizen who was his guardian -- returned to Germany in the summer, leaving Bartsch behind so he could graduate.
In order for Bartsch to stay on his own, he needed papers to show he was an American.
He searched for documents at home but didn't find any, so he contacted U.S. immigration authorities in Cleveland hoping the office would have records.
He was detained last week and has been jailed since the Christmas weekend.
Bartsch's story has prompted support from teachers, lawmakers, neighbors and others who have written letters pleading for the government to allow him to stay in the country.
Rally for him
Classmates and friends planned to gather for a rally Friday night in his support at the high school where Bartsch played football.
"The senior class is going to stand up and say it doesn't want to graduate without him," said Karen Blankenship, who had temporary custody of Bartsch when his grandfather left.
Bartsch's girlfriend, Ashley Painter, who graduated high school last year, said the judge's order gives her hope that he won't be forced out of the country. "It's a big relief," she said.
"We just want him home," she said. "He wants out of there so bad."
People who don't follow visa rules must be immediately detained and deported within 90 days, said Greg Palmore, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman.
He said Friday the agency had no comment on the judge's decision.
"We haven't had the opportunity to review it as yet," Palmore said. "We're aware of tremendous community support behind this young man. But ultimately ICE is obligated to follow the law."