The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that it had shared information leading to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of a Utah college student, which unintentionally violated a state law prohibiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.
Caroline Dias Goncalves was stopped by a Mesa County sheriff’s deputy on Interstate 70 near Fruita on June 5. She was let go with a warning but was pulled over again a short time later near Grand Junction and detained by federal immigration enforcement.
The sheriff’s office said it had discovered that federal law enforcement officers have begun using information shared in a multi-agency “communications group” for the purposes of immigration enforcement.
“This use of information is contradictory to Colorado law and was initially intended for the purpose of reducing illegal drug trafficking in Colorado,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, it resulted in the later contact between ICE and Miss Dias Goncalves.”
The information was shared via the secure communications app Signal, to a group organized by Homeland Security Investigations, Molly Casey, public information officer for the sheriff’s office, told Newsline on Tuesday. HSI, a separate branch of the Department of Homeland Security, works closely with ICE to identify targets for enforcement operations.
A Colorado law passed in 2019 generally prohibits cooperation and information-sharing between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities.
The sheriff’s office declined to answer follow-up questions about the content of the Signal message and its intended purpose.
“We would like to reiterate that we were unaware that the communication group was used for anything other than drug interdiction efforts and that we have since removed all Mesa County Sheriff’s Office members from the communication group,” the sheriff’s office added.
Dias Goncalves’ arrest was first reported last week by the Salt Lake Tribune. A nursing student at the University of Utah, she was born in Brazil and brought to the United States as a 7-year-old. She and her parents applied for asylum three years ago and subsequently received temporary work authorizations, driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers, the Tribune reported. She is being detained at the ICE facility in Aurora, operated by private prison firm GEO Group.
Body-worn camera footage released Monday shows Dias Goncalves was pulled over just after 1:30 p.m. on June 5 by Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Alexander Zwinck, who said she was driving too close to a tractor-trailer.
“Where are you from? You’ve got a little bit of an accent,” Zwinck said to Dias Goncalves shortly after telling her he would give her a warning.
“I’m from Utah,” she replied.
After Zwinck asked if she was born and raised there, she said she was born in Brazil.
ICE’s Denver field office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday on Dias Goncalves’ arrest or its use of the “communications group” for immigration enforcement.
Tensions over immigration enforcement have risen across the country in recent weeks as President Donald Trump’s administration, seeking to fulfill its promised mass-deportation campaign, has ordered ICE to dramatically broaden the scope of its operations. Agents have undertaken high-profile raids at restaurants, farms and other workplaces following a directive from top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and have begun arresting individuals and families outside federal immigration courts, reversing a longstanding policy that avoided such arrests so as not to deter immigrants from going through lawful court proceedings.
Contrary to claims by the Trump administration that its efforts are targeting violent criminals, the share of people held in ICE detention with no criminal record has risen sharply since January.
“We are deeply concerned by reports that a Colorado law enforcement passed private identifying information to ICE in violation of Colorado law designed to defend our communities,” Raquel Lane-Arellano, communications manager with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said in a statement Tuesday. “No one should have to live in fear that a routine traffic stop could lead to ICE detention. Now, Caroline and her family are going through unimaginable suffering that could have been prevented if our laws were followed.”
This story was originally published by Colorado Newsline and is republished with permission.
Read more at coloradonewsline.com.
