An 18-year-old Texas high school senior is having to take his final exams from an immigration detention center after he was arrested during a traffic stop just weeks before graduation.
Luis Fernando Cabrera Chavarria, a senior at Northeast Early College High School, was pulled over on May 1 while driving home from an overnight shift at Popeyes, where he works to help his family pay rent.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a state trooper stopped Cabrera Chavarria on Interstate 35 over an allegedly expired registration. The trooper was operating under the agency's 287(g) Task Force agreement with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which allows specially authorized state and local officers to enforce federal immigration laws during routine patrol duties.
After determining the teen was not lawfully in the United States, the trooper contacted ICE, which took him into custody and transferred him to the Karnes County Immigration Processing Center. Now, Cabrera Chavarria is completing his coursework from custody in the hope that he will still be allowed to graduate with his classmates on June 2.
'They've already had him miss prom. They've already had him miss a bunch of his classes. Today he is taking a final exam basically from prison,' Democratic Congressman Greg Casar told KXAN after visiting the detention center on Monday.
Austin Independent School District told KXAN it has been coordinating with Cabrera Chavarria's legal team and government officials to ensure he has access to his assignments and can stay on track academically. His attorney, Jim Harrington, has filed a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of his detention. The federal government is expected to respond, after which a judge will schedule a hearing.
Cabrera Chavarria's legal team remains hopeful he will be released in time to walk across the graduation stage. Cabrera Chavarria came to the United States with his family from Honduras in July 2019, when he was 11 years old, according to his attorney. The senior is a goalie for his school's varsity soccer team and helped lead Northeast to district and state championships. His sister said he balances classes and soccer practice with overnight shifts at Popeyes that often last until 2am. In his spare time, he helps care for his infant nephew and contributes to the household bills he shares with his sister.
His former English teacher, Joe Dunlap, described him as a determined and compassionate student. 'He wants to graduate. He wants to walk across the stage with his class,' Dunlap said. 'He is a leader. He has a good heart. He has good character.'
ICE told KXAN that Cabrera Chavarria 'freely admitted to having no legal basis or documentation to remain in the US' and said he will remain in custody while his immigration proceedings continue. 'Being in detention is a choice,' an ICE official said. '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.'
