A 19-year-old University of Utah Dreamer student was stopped by Colorado state police, questioned about her "accent" and released, only to be detained shortly afterward by immigration agents.

Caroline Dias Goncalves was pulled over on June 5 while driving to Denver, allegedly for following a semitruck "way, way too close," body cam footage obtained by NBC News revealed. After obtaining her license and insurance, Investigator Alexander Zwinck asked Dias Goncalves to sit in his patrol car while he entered her information manually.

"Where are you from? You have a bit of an accent," Zwinck asked.

"I'm from Utah," Dias Goncalves replied, explaining that she is a college student preparing to start nursing school in the Spring.

As the conversation continued, Dias Goncalves disclosed that she was born in Brazil and has lived in Utah for 12 years. After 20 minutes, Zwinck let the young woman off with a warning and told her to "take it easy."

When Dias Goncalves exited the highway, she was met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who stopped and arrested her. She was then moved to the Denver Contract Detention Facility where she remains today, NBC News reported.

"She has no criminal record and she was not shown a warrant," Jon Hyman, Dias Goncalves' attorney, said in an email.

A Mesa County Sheriff's Office investigation revealed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were made aware of Dias Goncalves through a group chat shared by local, state and federal law enforcement. The group conversation "resulted in the later contact between ICE and Miss Dias Goncalves," the Mesa County Sheriff's Office revealed Monday.

Gaby Pacheco, president of TheDream.US, told NBC News that scholars are following the legal system "to regularize their status," including Dias Goncalves, who has a pending case. Pacheco called Dreamers' detention an "aggravating and terrible thing that we're seeing."

Originally published on Latin Times

Immigration