Fact Check: "ICE secretly detained a University of Utah student after a traffic stop."
What We Know
On June 5, 2025, Caroline Dias Goncalves, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Utah, was pulled over by a Mesa County sheriff’s deputy in Colorado for driving too close to a semitruck. After being issued a warning, she was subsequently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shortly after the traffic stop, leading to her arrest and transfer to the Denver Contract Detention Facility, an immigrant detention center in Colorado (Washington Post, NBC News).
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office later revealed that the deputy who stopped Dias Goncalves was part of a group chat on Signal, an encrypted messaging app, which included local, state, and federal law enforcement. Information shared in this chat inadvertently led to ICE being notified of Dias Goncalves's immigration status (NBC News, Salt Lake Tribune).
Analysis
The claim that ICE secretly detained a University of Utah student after a traffic stop is substantiated by multiple credible sources. The Washington Post and NBC News report that Dias Goncalves was not only pulled over but also that information from the traffic stop was shared in a group chat that included ICE agents, leading to her detention. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has acknowledged that they were unaware the chat was being used for immigration enforcement, emphasizing that their intention was solely related to drug interdiction efforts (NBC News, Salt Lake Tribune).
The reliability of these sources is high, as they are well-established news organizations that adhere to journalistic standards. The information provided is corroborated by official statements from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, which conducted an internal investigation into the matter (NBC News).
While some may argue about the legality and ethics of ICE's actions, the facts surrounding the incident are clear. Dias Goncalves was detained shortly after a traffic stop due to the sharing of her information by law enforcement, which raises significant concerns about the intersection of local policing and federal immigration enforcement (Salt Lake Tribune).
Conclusion
Verdict: True. The evidence clearly supports the claim that ICE secretly detained a University of Utah student, Caroline Dias Goncalves, following a traffic stop. The circumstances surrounding her detention were directly linked to information shared by local law enforcement in a group chat that included ICE agents, leading to her arrest shortly after the initial traffic stop.
Sources
- ICE used info sheriff's deputy shared in Signal chat to ...
- Utah college student detained by ICE after a brief traffic stop to be ...
- University of Utah student picked up by ICE in Mesa County granted bond
- University of Utah student detained by ICE after 'warning' during ...
- ICE detained University of Utah student after gaining secret access to ...
