A college student was held for 15 days in an Aurora, Colorado, detention center after being pulled over in Mesa County. An internal review found that five sheriff’s deputies violated policy by sharing her information with federal immigration authorities in a Signal group chat.
Officials say Deputy Alexander Zwinck sent the student’s details to a law enforcement group chat that included members from ICE and Homeland Security Investigations. That exchange led to Caroline Dias-Goncalves, 19, being detained by immigration officers on Thursday, June 5, near Fruita. The University of Utah student has since been released on bond.
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Dias-Goncalves, originally from Brazil, has lived in Utah since she was 7 years old. She came to the U.S. on a visa and is currently pursuing asylum, according to NBC News.
Mesa County Sheriff’s Office admits fault
In a statement on Wednesday, July 30, Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell said his deputies were not supposed to be involved in immigration enforcement, and that prior conversations with Homeland Security Investigations made that expectation clear.
“Based on our findings, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office should not have had any role in the chain of events leading to Miss Dias-Goncalves’s detention, and I regret that this occurred. I apologize to Miss Dias-Goncalves,” Powell said.
According to an internal review, that boundary was crossed when Deputy Zwinck shared Dias-Goncalves’ personal information in a group chat that included federal immigration agents. Rowell said the department’s administrative review identified where training, supervision or policy fell short.
While those findings were still under review, Rowell criticized Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s decision to file a civil lawsuit against Deputy Zwinck. He said he received only two hours’ notice before the lawsuit and a related press conference were announced.
What happened during the traffic stop?
According to the complaint, Deputy Zwinck pulled over a nursing student, identified in previous reports as Dias-Goncalves, for following too closely behind a semi-truck on Interstate 70 near Fruita, Colorado. The sheriff’s office released his body camera footage, where you can see and hear the exchange.
The lawsuit claims that Zwinck took a photo of the student’s driver’s license and registration and uploaded it to a group chat on the Signal messaging app. The chat included federal immigration agents, specifically from HSI, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Within minutes, federal agents told Zwinck the woman had no criminal history, but her visa had expired.
Rather than let her go, the lawsuit says Zwinck kept her in his patrol car for several minutes, asked about her background, including questions about her accent and where she was from, and delayed her release while immigration officers were on their way.
Although Zwinck issued only a warning and let her drive away, he allegedly provided the agents with her license plate, vehicle description and direction of travel. Minutes later, federal agents stopped her and took her into custody.
Messages in the group chat show Zwinck congratulating the agents, replying “Rgr, nice work” after learning they had detained her. According to the lawsuit, this wasn’t a one-off incident. Zwinck is accused of doing the same thing on other occasions, even joking about it in one chat message, saying ICE should send “some bitchin’ Christmas baskets.”
State law prohibits law enforcement from working with federal agents
The suit points to several Colorado laws that limit how much local and state agencies can help with federal immigration enforcement. HB19-1124, passed in 2019, stops police from arresting or detaining someone just because of their immigration status, or holding them past their release time so ICE can take over, unless there’s a court order. It also blocks officers from sharing someone’s immigration status with federal agents unless required by law.
In 2021, SB21-131 took things further by preventing state employees from gathering or sharing personal information with ICE, unless legally required.
Most recently, SB25-276, enacted in 2025, reinforced all of this by making it clear that local agencies can’t assist with civil immigration enforcement or share personal data with ICE unless there’s a legal obligation or court order.
Deputies involved face disciplinary action
Following the review, disciplinary action was taken against five members of the sheriff’s office. Deputy Zwinck received three weeks of unpaid leave and was reassigned. Another deputy was suspended for two weeks, and three supervisors received varying levels of discipline, including a letter of reprimand and documented counseling.
GoFundMe started for Dias-Goncalves
A GoFundMe is asking for the community’s help to prevent Caroline Dias-Goncalves from being deported. Her family is asking for $30,000, which has since been raised, to allow Dias-Goncalves to continue her education and cover defense legal fees.
