Undocumented Harvard Student May Be Deported

Teen crossed border 15 years ago, says he'll fight to stay

By Marie Morris, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 13, 2010 5:10 PM CDT

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Undocumented Harvard Student May Be Deported — Eric Balderas, 19, in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., where he just finished his freshman year of college, on Friday, June. 11, 2010. Balderas, a Mexican citizen, may be deported. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

A Harvard undergraduate who entered the US illegally as a 4-year-old is facing deportation after being detained at a Texas airport last week following a visit to his mother. "I’m very worried, to be honest," Eric Balderas, who just finished his freshman year and says he lost his Mexican passport, tells the Boston Globe. “I’m willing to fight this, of course. I’m just hanging in there."

Balderas, a biology major on a full scholarship, grew up in San Antonio and considers English his first language. "I honestly never thought I’d make it into college because of my status, but I just really enjoyed school too much and I gave it a shot," he says. Harvard is expressing support; a spokeswoman says Balderas "has already demonstrated the discipline and work ethic required for rigorous university work."
(More Harvard stories.)

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