Authorities apprehended a Utah college student following a short-lived traffic stop, spawning concerns.
A buzz is circling about the immigration detention of a 19-year-old University of Utah student, Caroline Dias Goncalves, following a traffic stop in Colorado this June.
On June 5, Dias Goncalves was cruising down Interstate 70 near Loma, when a Mesa County sheriff's deputy flagged her down. The reasons behind this stop remain unclear, with relatives claiming the deputy accused her of driving too close to a semi-truck.
The traffic stop lasted under 20 minutes, and Dias Goncalves was released with a warning, as per the sheriff's office's statement on June 6. However, shortly after leaving the highway, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended her, carting her off to an immigration detention center.
Attorney Jon Hyman revealed that Dias Goncalves has no criminal record and was not shown a warrant.
Dias Goncalves is amongst approximately 2.5 million Dreamers residing in the United States. The term "Dreamer" refers to undocumented young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.
Hailing from Brazil, Dias Goncalves moved to the U.S. at the age of 7 and settled in Utah when she was 12. She currently has an asylum case in process.
Family and friends are perplexed about how immigration authorities were tipped off to her location.
Investigations revealed that the Mesa County deputy involved in the stop was a part of a communication group that linked local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies participating in a "multi-agency drug interdiction effort focusing on Western Colorado's highways." Following this revelation, the sheriff's office removed all Mesa County Sheriff's Office members from this communication group.
Colorado law, while not fully prohibiting the collaboration between local law enforcement and immigration authorities, does restrict it.
Online records indicate that Dias Goncalves remains in ICE custody at the Denver Contract Detention Facility. ICE has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Dias Goncalves' situation mirrors that of fellow Dreamer Ximena Arias-Cristobal from Georgia. In May, law enforcement in Dalton wrongly detained Arias-Cristobal, drawing attention from immigration authorities and increased vulnerability to deportation. Since her release from immigration detention, Arias-Cristobal has been vocal about the escalating risks Dreamers face as the Trump administration ramps up deportations of immigrants with no criminal charges or convictions.
Both Arias-Cristobal and Dias Goncalves have benefited from TheDream.US national scholarship, which assists undocumented youths with financial needs to pursue higher education.
In a TheDream.US survey of scholars, Dias Goncalves expressed her aspirations: "I want to succeed, have a family, make a change living in America."
Gaby Pacheco, TheDream.US's president, shared with NBC News on June 7 that scholars like Dias Goncalves are doing everything in their power to regularize their status. "She has a pending case, which is the aggravating and terrible thing that we're seeing," Pacheco added, commenting that the organization is in contact with Dias Goncalves' family.
Polls and surveys consistently demonstrate that U.S. citizens generally favor granting permanent legal status and a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers. Trump himself acknowledged this during his interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" in December, stating his intention to work with Democrats and Republicans to create a plan for Dreamers.
Responding to questions about potential immigration protections for Dreamers, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson informed NBC News on June 4, "The Trump Administration's top priority is deporting criminal illegal aliens from the United States, of which there are many."
- The traffic stop of Caroline Dias Goncalves, a Dreamer and university student, raised concerns about the intersection of local law enforcement, immigration authorities, and Dreamers' vulnerability, particularly in the context of education-and-self-development and politics.
- General-news sources indicate that public opinion leans towards granting permanent legal status and a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, contrasting with the White House's focus on deporting criminal illegal aliens, highlighting the ongoing debate in crime-and-justice and politics.
