of his high school class and now a sophomore at harvard university and he s on a full scholarship too. being at harvard is the greatst thing that ever happened to me. reporter: but it turns out he s an illegal immigrant. this past week he was detained trying to board a flight. eric was released but he s been fighting a huge legal battle. i am whole heartedly an american and i consider this my home and this is all i have ever known. reporter: that s true, eric has lived in the u.s. since he was 4 years old, but he was born in mexico. he does not remember not speaking english, he does not remember not living in the u.s. reporter: his friends have rallied around him creating a facebook page called keep eric home. i don t know buy the federal government is trying to get rid of people like eric that only make our country a better place. reporter: people are blasting eric calling him a whiner saying harvard should give his spot to a u.s. citizen. but harvard is fully behind e