DES MOINES, Iowa – Because a student’s immigration status is in question, the Des Moines school district will not let him enroll.

The Des Moines Register reports:

Iowans taught Habibu “Habi” Moise Habineza how to play tennis. They housed and helped educate him.

And when the now-16-year-old’s life was threatened in his homeland of Rwanda, Iowans brought the shy teenager to Des Moines.

Now, Habi’s new Iowa family has locked horns with officials from the state’s largest school district, which barred the teenager from attending school in the district because of his immigration status.

MORE NEWS: From Classroom to Consulate Chef: Culinary Student Lands Dream Job at U.S. Embassy in Paris

“All children — whether undocumented, refugees or are here because their parents have obtained employment — however the children end up here, they’re entitled to an education,” Stella Elias, a University of Iowa immigration law professor, tells the paper.

“If they still have a home elsewhere, then they still have residency back where they came from,” Andrew Bracken, an attorney representing the district, says, according to the Register.

The Associated Press reports the 16-year-old’s guardians, Ray and Carrie Bening, are appealing to the Iowa Board of Education because they say the boy’s immigration status shouldn’t be an issue.

“There’s really no reason for a school to inquire into immigration status,” the law professor adds.

“… We understand that Habibu has overstayed his visa and the host family has indicated that Habibu does not intend to return to Rwanda,” Bracken wrote in an August letter refusing enrollment – one of three times the student’s guardians sought to enroll him.

Another one of the boy’s guardians brought him to the United States to “pursue tennis training,” according to the Register.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

Meanwhile, USA Today reported in August schools across America were bracing for an estimated 50,000 unaccompanied minors from Central America.

The Des Moines district may be the only one actually doing anything about it.