AUSTIN, Texas — Supporters of an Austin high school senior detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement rallied Thursday evening outside Northeast Early College High School, calling for his release as they say his graduation is now at risk.According to a press release from supporters, Luis Fernando Cabrera was detained early Friday morning after a Texas Department of Public Safety traffic stop for expired registration. Supporters say he is being held at the Karnes Detention Center, more than 100 miles from Austin.Luis, a senior at Northeast Early College High School and goalie for the school’s varsity soccer team, described his arrest and detention in a phone interview with CBS Austin, recorded from inside the detention center.“I told them I was a student and that I was coming home from work,” Luis said. “They told me that didn’t matter. They chained my feet, my waist, and my hands.”Luis also described conditions inside the detention facility.“They wake us up at 4 in the morning to eat,” he said. “But there’s only one plate and one spoon for eight people. We all have to share it.”Supporters say Luis helped support his sister and baby nephew while balancing school, soccer, and overnight work shifts.“Fernando’s routine was to get up super early,” said his sister, Holi Zaday. “He would help me take my baby to the babysitter, go from there to his school, have soccer practice after school, then head from practice to his job, where he would work until 2 in the morning.”Supporters also say the family has a pending asylum case tied to alleged abuse and threats from a government official in Mexico.“They want to deport me to a country I can’t go back to because I fear for my life,” Luis said.ALSO| Austin ISD considers cutting 215 educator salaries to deal with $181 million deficitKEYEFriends and family members at Thursday’s rally said the detention has shaken the school community.“It’s someone that you see every day in school, and it definitely hurts,” said Jose Ignacio Arugo, a friend of Luis’s.“I’m completely heartbroken about the news,” Cabrera’s Godfather said.Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said she has seen more ICE detentions following traffic stops across Texas.“What they’ve pivoted to now is a quieter, more insidious model where, through partnerships with law enforcement, people are being pulled over while driving and taken from their families,” Lincoln-Goldfinch said.She also questioned the legality of some detentions.“So many of these arrests are not actually constitutional,” she said. “They don’t have due process. They don’t have probable cause for the detention.”The US Department of Homeland Security provided the following statement:On May 1, 2026, ICE arrested Luis Cabrera Chavarria, an 18 year old adult and illegal alien from Mexico, in San Antonio. Cabrera Chavarria illegally entered the United States on July 28, 2019, near Eagle Pass, Texas. This illegal alien will remain in ICE custody pending immigration proceedings and will receive full due process.“Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.CBS Austin reached out to ICE for more information about Cabrera’s arrest and detention, but had not heard back as of Thursday night.Organizers at the rally said the family currently has two attorneys working on the case.