Project SummaryUnder President Donald Trump's renewed administration, Texas has emerged as a key frontline in the push for aggressive immigration enforcement and widespread deportations. Texas residents – regardless of immigration status – feel the ripple effects in the economy, schools, healthcare systems, courts and public safety services. To better understand these challenges, KXAN launched "Undocumented," an ongoing project diving into the real-life consequences of related policies and proposals.AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper used an encrypted messaging app to communicate with what appears to be federal immigration agents during a traffic stop that led to the detention of an Austin Independent School District student, body worn camera video shows.The video obtained by KXAN shows the early morning May 1 traffic stop of high school senior Luis Fernando Cabrera Chavarria. The 18-year-old varsity soccer player was pulled over for alleged expired vehicle registration and later detained at the Karnes County Immigration and Processing Center before being released on a federal court order last week. His arrest and detention, just weeks ahead of his high school graduation, prompted U.S. Congressman Greg Casar, D-Austin, to publicly call for his release.The body camera video shows the trooper initially informed Cabrera he would receive a ticket for driving without a license. The teen said he only had his school identification card. The trooper is seen minutes later in his vehicle taking a picture of Cabrera's school ID card and sending it through the encrypted messaging app Signal. The response to the trooper's message and photo was an image and a message that read "detain." The trooper responded to the message with his location and within minutes a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent arrived.Signal is an end-to-end encrypted private messaging platform that allows only the sender and the recipient the ability to read messages. The application allows users to set a timer for when to delete new messages, as soon as 30 seconds after they have been seen.Multiple news outlets nationwide have reported in recent years on transparency concerns surrounding government and law enforcement agencies' and officials' use of Signal when communicating about matters of public interest. KXAN has requested copies of the Signal communication sent during the traffic stop.KXAN also reached out to Signal representatives with questions about law enforcement use of its app but has not yet received a response. On the legal section of its website, Signal says it "cannot decrypt or otherwise access the content of your messages or calls." That content is owned by the sender, and Signal owns elements like copyrights and trade secrets, according to language on its site.Signal does say online, in certain instances, it may need to share a sender's data to, in part, "meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request" and "protect against harm to the rights, property, or safety of… the public as required or permitted by law."ICE officials have not yet responded to KXAN's questions about the encrypted messaging app. In a statement, DPS told KXAN its "personnel use a variety of methods to communicate with local, state and federal law enforcement partners, including text, email and phone." KXAN spoke to Cabrera's family and legal team about the video, but neither offered additional comment."[Signal] should be outlawed," said transparency advocate and Austin attorney Bill Aleshire. "It contradicts everything that is written into our government records retention laws."Aleshire, who before serving in county government, worked as a legislative aide in 1973 to the House sponsor of the Texas Open Records Act — now known as the Texas Public Information Act — which he helped draft. He told KXAN not retaining documents that are created — like electronic communication — undermines the Act."The only effective way to [ensure that doesn't happen] is to make it a criminal offense for any government official to use Signal," he said. KXAN has asked DPS for a response to that assertion.The video shows at 2:07 a.m., the trooper asks Cabrera to get out of the vehicle and said he "talked to ICE and you are going to be under arrest for immigration violation." As Cabrera is handcuffed, he asks if he is being deported. The trooper responded that he did not know and that ICE was going to come and pick him up.At 2:17 a.m., a federal immigration official with ICE's Enforcement and Removal Office (ERO) arrived and detained the teen. The federal agent told Cabrera, in Spanish, he was being taken to San Antonio where he would be detained.The DPS trooper who conducted the stop is a federally certified Delegated Immigration Officer under what is known as 287(g), according to DPS officials. Texas peace officers operating through 287(g) agreements are trained by ICE and have authority to perform federal immigration enforcement duties.There are three "models" of the program. Two – called "jail enforcement" and "warrant service officer" – are largely limited to use within jails. The third model, known as "task force," allows officers to engage in immigration enforcement in the field during routine duties – including traffic stops and arrests, according to ICE.DPS' Highway Patrol and Criminal Investigations Division both signed task force agreements signed last year. At the state level, the Office of Attorney General and Texas National Guard also have those agreements.The number of 287(g) agreements across the country has skyrocketed since the start of the second Trump presidency — something our team has been investigating for months. There are now nearly 1,900 active agreements nationwide, according to ICE data. The number in Texas also continues to rise. As of this week, Texas had 395 agreements – the most in the country – and 202 of those are task force.The video above shows the first 25 minutes of the body worn camera provided to KXAN by the Texas Department of Public Safety from an Austin traffic stop on May 1, in which Luis Fernando Cabrera Chavarria, 18, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following an alleged expired registration violation. Scroll to 2:13 mark to see when the traffic stop begins. (Texas DPS)'Can I call my sister?'During the 28-minute recording, the teen is repeatedly heard asking the trooper and then the federal immigration officer if he can call his sister and, at one point, his father. The trooper told Cabrera multiple times he would be allowed to make a phone call later. After the teen asked a fifth time, the trooper said "no" again, adding he could not call yet "because sometimes people show up and they cause a scene."Video shows the DPS trooper put the handcuffed teen in the front seat of his vehicle. While they waited for federal immigration officials, the teen told the trooper about his parents being from Honduras and then moving to Mexico before he was born. He also told the trooper about his life in the US."I do nothing bad. I do work. I am a student. I go to [Austin Community College] when I am done with high school," Cabrera told the trooper. The trooper explained it was still against the law to enter the country illegally. WATCH: Austin ISD high school senior reunites with family after weeks in ICE custody In a statement, ICE officials previously told KXAN Cabrera "freely admitted to having no legal basis or documentation to remain in the U.S." ICE officials said Cabrera entered the country with his family in 2019 through Eagle Pass. He was 11 years old at the time. His family applied for asylum and has been working through the legal immigration process, according to their attorney. When a federal judge ordered Cabrera to be released from the Karnes Immigration facility weeks after this stop, he stated, the teen had complied with the conditions of his prior release.Body camera video shows an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during the May 1 traffic stop of Luis Fernando Cabrera (Texas Department of Public Safety)Body camera video shows Cabrera also talked about his case with the federal immigration official. The teen told the federal agent he'd been living in the country for seven years and had an immigration court date in December. The federal agent said the teen's court date would be moved up by two to three weeks. A week after the traffic stop, ICE officials told KXAN in a statement, that Cabrera would remain in ICE custody pending completion of his immigration proceedings."If I was doing drugs, doing something bad then I [would] understand, but I work and I study. Look what time it is. I work. I am a manager at Popeyes. I study at 9 a.m.," Cabrera told the federal officer in Spanish. "What did I do wrong?"The immigration officials told Cabrera he would have a court date, and the judge would be the one to decide. "For right now, my job is to take you out of here because you don't have permission to be here," the federal officer told Cabrera. KXAN investigators discuss 287(g) ICE agreements, economic impact of deportations In the video, the federal immigration agent is seen putting Cabrera's belongings into plastic bags marked "Department of Homeland Security" and then using a waist chain to handcuff Cabrera, securing it around his waist and feet. The agent told the teen he was using the waist chain because his vehicle did not have the partition in the back. ICE officials have not responded to KXAN's questions about the use of the chains during Cabrera's arrest.Cabrera continued to ask the federal immigration officer if he could call his sister. The teen lives with his older sister and two-year-old nephew. He told the officer that his sister was waiting on him to come home and would worry if he did not return. The federal agent told him he could call once they arrived at the office.This is an ongoing story. Check back for updates.KXAN Investigative Photojournalist Chris Nelson, Lead Editor Eric Lefenfeld and Digital Special Projects Developer Robert Sims contributed to this report.Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.