SALT LAKE CITY — Saying her time in detainment following an arrest by ICE agents earlier this month was the "hardest of her life," University of Utah student Caroline Dias Goncalves is now speaking out about her experience and thanking those who supported her.
Dias Goncalves, who has been in the U.S. since 2012 when she moved with family from Brazil, was arrested on June 5 in Colorado. She was originally stopped by a Mesa County Sheriff's Office deputy for a traffic violation and released with a warning, only to be pulled over minutes later by ICE agents and arrested.
A judge approved Dias Goncalves's release from detention on bail last week, and after being freed, the 19-year-old shared on Monday what the experience was like through a statement.
“I was scared and felt alone," she wrote. "I was placed in a system that treated me like I didn’t matter."
Dias Goncalves said those with her in the Colorado detention center were kept on confusing schedules and given soggy, wet food.
"...the moment they realized I spoke English, I saw a change. Suddenly, I was treated better than others who didn’t speak English. That broke my heart," said Dias Goncalves. "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."
Colorado arrest of student came after chat messages that included ICE agents:
In the statement, Dias Goncalves thanked her family, friends and attorney who fought for her, as well as others who made calls to lawmakers for her release. She even gave a surprising thank you to the ICE agent who took her into custody.
"...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. I want you to know— I forgive you.
"Because I believe that people can make better choices when they’re allowed to."
The Mesa County Sheriff's Office in Colorado accused ICE and its agents of illegally using messages in a text chat to locate and arrest Dias Goncalves after she was stopped and released from the earlier traffic stop.
Dias Goncalves said she was speaking out in hopes that what happened to her never happens to anyone else.
"I hope no one else has to go through what I did," she said. "But I know that right now, over 1,300 people are still in that same nightmare in that Aurora detention facility. They are just like me — including other people who’ve grown up here, who love this country, who want nothing more than a chance to belong."
Now that she is freed, Dias Goncalves said she will focus on school and healing.
"But I won’t forget this. And I hope others won’t either. Immigrants like me—we’re not asking for anything special. Just a fair chance to adjust our status, to feel safe, and to keep building the lives we’ve worked so hard for in the country we call home."
