As The Colorado Sun reported, former Mesa County Sheriff's Office deputy Alexander Zwinck is now working at Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a sequence of events that involved local disciplinary action, a state-level lawsuit, and judicial rulings regarding federal immigration enforcement. The sequence began on June 5, 2025. On that date, Alexander Zwinck stopped Caroline Dias Goncalves on Interstate 70 near Loma.
During the course of the traffic stop on Interstate 70 near Loma on June 5, 2025, an interaction occurred between the law enforcement officer and the motorist. As obtained by The Colorado Sun, Zwinck addressed the motorist during the stop by asking, "Where are you from? You’ve got a little bit of an accent." Following the stop executed by Alexander Zwinck, Caroline Dias Goncalves was subsequently detained by ICE in June 2025.
The circumstances surrounding the detention of Caroline Dias Goncalves later drew scrutiny from the judicial system. In connection with the enforcement actions, a judge ruled that ICE officers acted illegally without warrants. The fallout also drew the attention of state officials, leading to legal action when Attorney General Phil Weiser sued Zwinck in July.
Meanwhile, the local agency that employed the deputy took internal disciplinary steps. In response to the incident, the Mesa County Sheriff's Office suspended Zwinck for three weeks. Following the conclusion of the three-week suspension and the ongoing legal pressure from the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Phil Weiser in July, the employment relationship ended when Zwinck resigned in September 2025.
The subsequent professional activities of the former local deputy came to light through unauthorized leaks of government information. Data published by Distributed Denial of Secrets from hacked federal files brought forward the information showing that former deputy Alexander Zwinck is now working at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Seeking clarity on the transition of the former Mesa County Sheriff's Office deputy to the federal immigration agency, questions were directed to federal public affairs officials. Addressing the personnel situation, a spokesperson at the Denver ICE public affairs office told The Colorado Sun, "Due to employment privacy policies ICE does not confirm the employment status or personnel actions of any individual."
