Caroline Dias Goncalves, a 19-year-old college student from Utah and Dreamer originally from Brazil, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a routine traffic stop on June 5 in Grand Junction, Colorado. Although initially released with a warning for allegedly driving too closely to a semi-truck, ICE agents later detained her and transferred her to an immigration detention facility.
The arrest followed police sharing her personal information in a Signal group chat involving local, state, and federal law enforcement officials working on drug interdiction efforts in western Colorado. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that ICE had been using data from this chat for immigration enforcement, a practice that contradicts Colorado state law restricting coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies.
Dias Goncalves has lived in the U.S. since 2012 after moving from Brazil with her family. They sought asylum three years ago, which allowed them work permits and limited legal documents while their case remains pending. She is a University of Utah student on a merit scholarship planning to attend nursing school.
Friends and family describe her detention conditions as harsh and have created a GoFundMe campaign to support her legal defense. The sheriff’s office has since removed its members from the Signal chat to prevent similar incidents.
