CLEVELAND -- A local 18-year-old high school student is sitting in the Bedford Heights City Jail, considered a fugitive by the U.S. Immigration Office.

Now, Manuel Martsch's family and an attorney are hoping to get him out of jail while his case is being considered

Bartsch seems like the typical teen growing up in Ohio. He has a girlfriend, is a member of the high school football team, has good grades and has no criminal record.

His grandfather brought him to the United States from Germany in 1997, but never followed through with his grandson's U.S. citizenship.

Top immigration attorney David Leopold is taking Bartsch's case without compensation, and will file motions to have the teen released while his deportation is being considered.

"He's a kid who just wants to graduate, he just wants to finish school. And to lock him up and throw away the key two days before Christmas, and to hold him over the holidays, is unconscionable," said Leopold.

NewsChannel5 spoke with Bartsch's legal guardian, Karen Blankenship, who raised the teen in Putnam County since he was in fourth grade.

"That boy never did anything wrong, and it's appalling that this government would do that to a young man when it wasn't his fault in the first place," said Blankenship.

But immigration investigators at the federal building say Bartsch does not have his citizenship, and federal law states that he be held in jail until he is deported within 90 days.

His family and his attorney believe the case can be settled without jail time.

"This kid presents no risk to anybody in Ohio or in any other part of the country," said Leopold.

The U.S. Immigration Office says they will not make any exceptions in this case.

Bartsch's grandfather has since gone back to Germany and told the teen's guardian that he left Bartsch on his own because he was now 18 and able to take care of himself.