Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser sued a sheriff’s deputy who shared information with federal immigration officials regarding a 19-year-old Brazilian student whom he had pulled over last month.
The lawsuit points to Colorado law that limits the authority of state agencies and employees to cooperate with federal immigration officials. Weiser noted that he is focused on preventing the deputy sheriff from aiding federal immigration enforcement rather than on a monetary settlement.
“Colorado law clearly directs that our limited state resources go to enforcing Colorado criminal laws and not be diverted to immigration enforcement,” Weiser said at a news conference Tuesday. “The legislature specified that such actions can undermine public trust and also deter people from accessing the services offered by state agencies and political subdivisions.”
Caroline Dias Goncalves, a University of Utah nursing student, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last month shortly after she was pulled over by Mesa County Deputy Alexander Zwinck for allegedly driving too close to a semitruck on an interstate highway. She was then held at a Colorado detention center for two weeks before being released.
“In this case, the driver was detained by immigration authorities because of actions by Colorado law enforcement despite the absence of any criminal activity on her part. Her detention for over two weeks is directly due to this violation of Colorado’s laws,” Weiser said in a statement.
“Because of this action, we are making clear that Colorado law enforcement’s role is to advance public safety, not take on the responsibility of doing the work of federal immigration enforcement,” Weiser said.
The sheriff’s office placed Zwinck on administrative leave last month following the incident.
After Dias Goncalves was pulled over, Zwinck uploaded her driver’s license and vehicle registration form to a Signal chat group that included federal immigration officers, the lawsuit alleged. Zwinck allegedly stalled Dias Goncalves while federal authorities conducted a background check. He then let her go with a warning after relaying her location to federal immigration agents.
Meanwhile, the federal agents had sent a message to Zwinck via Signal, indicating Dias Goncalves’s nationality and immigration status, reading, “Brazilian national, visa overstay. No crim [sic], no financials or [Homeland Security Investigations] cases.”
“Deputy Zwinck eventually released the driver at 1:55 p.m. with the warning, approximately five minutes after providing his and the driver’s location to the federal immigration officers. Deputy Zwinck never told the driver that federal immigration officers were en route to their location,” the lawsuit stated.
Dias Goncalves, who is from Brazil and has lived in Utah since she was 7 years old, was released 15 days after being detained. Her lawyer said she is legally seeking asylum in the United States.
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“The past 15 days have been the hardest of my life,” Dias Goncalves said in a statement following her release. “I was scared and felt alone. I was placed in a system that treated me like I didn’t matter. In detention, we were given soggy, wet food – even the bread would come wet. We were kept on confusing schedules. And the moment they realized I spoke English, I saw a change. Suddenly, I was treated better than others who didn’t speak English. That broke my heart. Because no one deserves to be treated like that. Not in a country that I’ve called home since I was 7 years old and is all I’ve ever known.”
“And even to the ICE officer who detained me — he kept apologizing and told me he wanted to let me go, but his ‘hands were tied,’” she added. “There was nothing he could do, even though he knew it wasn’t right. I want you to know — I forgive you. Because I believe that people can make better choices when they’re allowed to.”