PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A federal judge will hear arguments in the case of an immigrant high school poet who is suing to compete in a government-funded national poetry competition.

Last month, 17-year-old Westbrook student Allan Monga, who left Zambia to come to the United States, won the Maine “Poetry Out Loud” contest. The Bangor Daily News reports he has applied for asylum in the U.S., but has not been granted legal residency, which means he is not allowed to compete in the National Endowment of the Arts’ national “Poetry Out Loud” contest.

The judge will hear arguments Wednesday in Portland.

NEA attorneys are urging the federal judge to let the organization’s eligibility rules stand.

Monga and the Portland School District argue the NEA is violating the Constitution’s equal protection clause by banning him.