9 hours ago
Surprising twist for deputy who shared info about nursing student with ICE after routine traffic stop
The sheriff's deputy who shared details of a routine traffic stop with federal agents, prompting ICE to arrest a nursing student, has been placed on leave pending an investigation.
Caroline Dias Goncalves, 19, was detained by federal agents just moments after officer Alexander Zwinck let her off with a warning for driving too close to a semi-truck on a Colorado Interstate on June 5.
Zwinck put details of the traffic stop into a group chat with federal agents which was only meant to be used to collaborate on drug offenses.
Now, he's been stood down pending a full investigation into his messages in the Signal chat to ensure that proper protocol and state law was abided by.
In Colorado, local law enforcement officials are prohibited from working with federal agents on immigration enforcement matters.
'This includes, but is not limited to, working to understand if and when Mesa County Sheriff's Office employees were made aware that the information shared for drug interdiction efforts was being utilized for immigration enforcement,' the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Zwinck will remain on leave 'pending the outcome of the administrative investigation.
'Any repercussions will be determined by the outcome of the full administrative investigation.'
The revelation comes after a Colorado judge granted Goncalves bond on Wednesday, setting the stage for her to be released from ICE custody.
She has been held in the Denver Detentino Facility since her initial arrest earlier this month.
During the traffic stop, the University of Utah nursing student complied with Zwinck by handing over all of her documentation and paperwork.
In bodyworn camera footage seen by Zwinck told Goncalves he would let her off with just a warning, asking: 'Where are you from? You have a bit of an accent.'
Goncalves answered: 'I'm from Utah.'
Zwinck asked how long she'd been living in Utah and whether she was 'born and raised there', to which she cautiously answered: 'No. I was born in, um, gosh I always forget the town.. down in Brazil.'
'My parents moved here,' she added.
It is understood her family arrived in the US on a tourist visa, which they overstayed. Her father then applied for asylum, and that case is pending.
She is one of 2.5 million Dreamers in the United States, referring to undocumented migrants who were brought to the US as young children.
Goncalves earned a coveted national scholarship, which allows undocumented youth to help finance college.
While her asylum claim was pending, she had been granted temporary rights to work.
Jon Hyman, who is legally representing Goncalves, said: 'We are relieved that Caroline was granted bond today and will be released from detention and returned to her family and community in the coming days.'
He went on to describe the 'traumatic past few weeks' for both Goncalves and her family.
'Caroline's arrest and detention should not have happened in the first place,' he said.
'She has no criminal record, was not shown a warrant, and as the Mesa County Sheriff's office has since revealed, her arrest was only attributable to improper coordination between local law enforcement and ICE.
'Investigations should continue to ensure that other young immigrants in Colorado do not have to go through the same harrowing experiences.'
Minutes after Zwinck had sent Goncalves on her way with a warning, she was pulled over again by ICE agents as she exited the freeway, and taken into custody.
The Mesa County Sheriff's Office later revealed that Zwinck was part of a group chat with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners which was used to improve multi-agency cooperation to stem the drug trafficking trade.
'We were unaware that the communication group was used for anything other than drug interdiction efforts, including immigration,' the statement read.
'We have since removed all Mesa County Sheriff's Office members from the communication group.'
The Sheriff's Office has since learned that federal agents within the group chat have been using the information gathered and shared there for the purposes of ICE 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 read.
'Unfortunately, it resulted in the later contact between ICE and Miss Dias Goncalves.'
A GoFundMe set up by a friend to help Goncalves' family cover legal costs associated with her detention raised $28,000 before they stopped accepting payments.
'Caroline has always followed the law, passionately pursued her education, and dreamed of a future full of opportunity,' the fundraising page reads.
'Yet she now finds herself unlawfully detained, frightened, and far from the safety and support she deserves.'
Goncalves' detention became yet another flashpoint in the fight against President Trump's mass deportation agenda.
He has put pressure on ICE agents to conduct sweeping arrests and last week directed federal immigration officials to prioritize deportations from Democratic-run cities.
Trump added that to reach the goal officials 'must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside.'
Trump's declaration comes after weeks of increased enforcement, and after Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump's immigration policies, said ICE officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump's second term.
At the same time, the Trump administration has reportedly directed immigration officers to pause arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels amid concern about the impact aggressive enforcement is having on those industries.
