EXCLUSIVE: Dashcam Shows Texas Trooper Doubting U.S. Citizen's Legal Status Before Deportation
Dashcam and in-car camera footage obtained by The Digital Free Press through a Texas public records request shows how a routine window-tint stop in the Texas Hill Country turned into a Border Patrol referral for two passengers, one of whom is Brian Morales García, the Austin man who says he is a U.S. citizen and who was removed to Mexico days later.
The recordings, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) in response to TDFP's request P030656-102526, cover the April 3, 2026, stop by DPS Trooper Matthew D. McGriff on U.S. Highway 290 at Goehmann Lane in Gillespie County, near Fredericksburg. The Digital Free Press found no prior publication of the footage.
"Do you want me to call Border Patrol?"
According to the trooper's offense report (DPS case TX 2026-721410), McGriff stopped a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado for window tint at about 1:43 p.m. The driver, Jesus Parga, was arrested on a Bastrop County warrant and for driving while license invalid. Two passengers were in the truck: Bryan Jose Morales-Garcia, as the report spells his name, and Ignacio Alonso Munoz.
At about 2:01 p.m., the dashcam records a Gillespie County deputy asking the trooper, "Do you want me to call Border Patrol when you get in?"
"Yeah, as soon as I get their full ID, date of birth," the trooper replies. Moments later the deputy answers, "Absolutely."
The report identifies the deputy as Hunter Bibb of the Gillespie County Sheriff's Office. It states that Bibb "requested if I wanted to contact DHS/Border Patrol, to which I permitted him to do so," because neither passenger spoke English and neither carried identification. A Fredericksburg Police Department sergeant, Victor Martinez, translated at the scene.
"I'm not sure if they're legal"
A few minutes later, at about 2:05 p.m., the in-car camera records Parga, handcuffed in the patrol car, asking the trooper, "What's happening to those guys?"
"Well, they may not... they may not be able to leave either, man, because I'm not sure if they're legal or should be here in the country," the trooper says. He then reads Parga his Miranda warning. The report logs the warning at 2:05 p.m.
The trooper's doubt, as recorded, was about both passengers. Earlier, according to the report, he had asked Parga whether the two men "were illegal," and Parga answered, "I don't know their status to be honest with you." He also had the passengers sit on the ground and remove their shoes, writing that people "under suspicion of being an Illegal Immigrant" often run.
The citizenship claim
DPS released 35 of the report's 57 pages. In paragraph 41, the trooper wrote that Sgt. Martinez "informed me that Bryan was claiming that he was born in the United States but has no identification whatsoever to prove his claim," and that he did not have a Social Security number. In paragraph 46, the trooper wrote that an inventory of the passengers' backpacks turned up "no birth certificates, social security cards, nor any identifying documentation to prove US citizenship."
The report is not consistent on identification. Paragraph 25 says Munoz had an ID and Morales García had none; paragraph 28 says neither man had identification "apart from Bryan's ID."
The roadside interview in which Morales García made his claim was conducted in Spanish through the translator and cannot be clearly heard on the dashcam microphone. At about 3:05 p.m., the in-car camera records an exchange in the patrol car between Parga and the trooper: "I know one of them has said in a conversation that he was born in Colorado. I'm not so sure." The audio does not make clear who said each line.
According to the report, Border Patrol ran an identity check, "did indeed express interest in detaining" both passengers, and emailed federal immigration detainers. The dashcam shows the two men being walked away from the roadside at about 2:45 p.m. Deputy Bibb took them to the Gillespie County jail to await DHS. Neither passenger was charged with a crime in the report.
What each side says
The Texas Tribune reported on Sept. 2 that Morales García, 25, has said repeatedly that he was born in Denver and grew up in Mexico. He told the Tribune that after the stop he offered to show officers his Social Security card and birth certificate, which were at his home in Austin, and that officers turned the offer down. The Tribune reported that the federal government agreed with his lawyers to let him back into the country in late August while a civil rights lawsuit continues. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, told the Tribune she believes he was racially profiled.
The Department of Homeland Security has disputed that account. In a statement quoted by several outlets, including News From The States and the San Antonio Current, a DHS spokesperson said: "CBP did NOT arrest a U.S. citizen." The statement said Border Patrol agents from the Rocksprings Station interviewed Morales-Garcia after he was encountered by Gillespie County deputies, determined "through record checks" that he was in the country illegally, and that he "admitted he is a Mexican national and he entered the country illegally." DHS said he was removed to Mexico on April 7.
The Digital Free Press has not independently confirmed where Morales García was born.
The missing body camera footage
The report says the trooper used his body-worn camera during the stop (paragraphs 38 and 45). DPS did not include that footage in its release to The Digital Free Press.
An Aug. 10 letter ruling from the Texas Attorney General's office, OR2026-034522, addressed three earlier requests from two other requestors about the same incident. It found the requests did not include the information Texas law requires for body camera footage: the date and approximate time, the specific location, and the name of at least one person in the recording. Because of that, the ruling "does not reach" the body camera recording, and DPS was not required to release it. The ruling notes that a requestor may file a new request with that information. It also says DPS notified the U.S. Department of Justice because release "may implicate" its interests.
The Digital Free Press is seeking the trooper's body-worn camera footage through a new public records request that includes all three required details.
Requests for comment: The Digital Free Press has not yet contacted DPS, DHS, the Gillespie County Sheriff's Office or Morales García's attorney about the footage. This story will be updated with any response.
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