Caroline Dias Goncalves was released from the Aurora GEO Detention Facility on Friday after 15 days, following a traffic stop in early June.
COLORADO, USA — The 19-year-old University of Utah student who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents following a traffic stop in Colorado released a statement on Monday following her release from the GEO Detention Facility in Aurora.
“The past 15 days have been the hardest of my life,” said Caroline Dias Goncalves in a statement released by TheDream.US. “I was scared and felt alone. I was placed in a system that treated me like I didn’t matter.”
Dias Goncalves was on her way to Denver on June 5 when she was pulled over by a Mesa County Sheriff’s Office deputy while driving on Interstate 70 outside Loma.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement that the traffic stop lasted “less than 20 minutes.” In body camera video released by the sheriff’s office, the deputy tells Dias Goncalves that she was driving too close to a semi-truck. The deputy also questions her about her accent and place of birth.
She was born in Brazil and was brought to the United States as a 7-year-old, NBC News reports.
The deputy released her with a warning. After continuing her trip to Denver and exiting the highway, ICE agents stopped Dias Goncalves, arrested her and took her to the ICE detention facility in Aurora.
Dias Goncalves was released from the Aurora ICE facility at 5:30 p.m. June 20 after posting bond. She was detained for 15 days, according to TheDream.US.
Dias Goncalves said that her detention in the Aurora ICE detention facility was a “nightmare.” She said that while she was there, detainees were given wet, soggy food and were kept on confusing schedules.
“And the moment they realized I spoke English, I saw a change,” she said in her statement. “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.”
Dias Goncalves said she forgives the ICE agent who detained her after the traffic stop.
“He kept apologizing and told me he wanted to let me go, but his ‘hands were tied.’ There was nothing he could do, even though he knew it wasn’t right,” she said in her statement. “I want you to know — I forgive you. Because I believe that people can make better choices when they’re allowed to.”
You can read Dias Goncalves’ full statement on TheDream.US website.
Dias Goncalves’ traffic stop and subsequent arrest by ICE agents raised concerns about racial profiling and compliance with Colorado state laws that limit cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration representatives.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said Zwinck has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an ongoing administrative investigation into the agency’s conduct related to Dias Goncalves’ detention.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office later said that Dias Goncalves’ information was shared via Signal with a communication group that included federal agents. The group, which was initially intended for drug interdiction efforts, was reportedly being misused by those federal agents for immigration enforcement purposes.
There is no evidence that Dias Goncalves was being investigated in connection with any drug-related operations.
The investigation includes reviewing messages from sheriff’s office employees to local, state and federal partners via Signal, as well as efforts to determine “if and when” their employees became aware that the information intended for drug-related efforts was being used for the purpose of immigration enforcement.
This article includes reporting from Jennifer Campbell-Hicks, Antonia Velez and Angeline McCall.