One month after a Utah student was detained after ICE secretly accessed a Colorado agent's Signal chat, the state is once again the center of criticism, after several agents, including members of the National Patrol of State Highway Patrol, have shared or are sharing information about immigrants with federal agents without authorization through that same encrypted messaging service.

The investigation by the Mesa Sheriff's Department is related to the case of Caroline Dias-Goncalves, who was detained last June by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) upon returning home to Colorado after completing her degree at the University of Utah, where she studies.

The investigations led by Todd Rowell, Mesa County Sheriff, determined that five of his subordinates shared information with ICE without authorization (that is, there was no court order) and in violation of state laws that have been in place for 13 years.

According to what was learned, the uniform officers used the Signal messaging app.

Authorities focused on Undersheriff Alexander Zwinck, who, in a group that included local law enforcement and representatives from several federal agencies, provided specific details about the Brazilian immigrant, who came to the United States when she was 7 years old.

Sheriff Rowell said his investigation determined that the Mesa County Sheriff's Office "should not have intervened" in the chain of events that led to Dias-Goncalves' arrest, so "I regret that this happened." I apologize.

According to Rowell, another deputy sheriff, as well as a sergeant, a lieutenant and a captain from his department were also allegedly involved, so he asked the corresponding federal agencies to publish the chat in its entirety and also requested that State Attorney Phil Weiser investigate the case.

In fact, last week, based on preliminary investigations (the prosecutor had access to privileged information), Weiser filed a lawsuit against Zwinck for sharing information with ICE.

This Thursday, the State Attorney's office announced that it is investigating whether other local police officers who were in the same chat group as Zwinck also shared information with ICE. In fact, according to Sheriff Rowell, the Colorado Highway Patrol provided personally identifiable information to ICE in the same chat group mentioned.

In a statement, Attorney General Weiser emphasized that the Attorney General's office received information demonstrating flagrant violations of state law, and that other law enforcement agencies are being investigated for a pattern or practice of civil rights violations.

The Mesa County Sheriff has the responsibility to investigate and discipline its employees. The attorney general has a duty to enforce state laws and protect Coloradans, and will continue to do so, the document states.

It should be noted that Colorado law does not allow agents to inquire about immigration status. The state also prohibits its agents from sharing information with federal immigration authorities.