Ximena Arias-Cristobal Arrested for Traffic Accusation and Handed Over to ICE

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Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a 19 year old Dalton State Community College student who came into the USA at age 4 when her parents illegally immigrated, was stopped for allegedly making an illegal turn, then handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Dalton, Georgia police pulled her over for making an improper turn. Police also decided her international driver’s license did not count as a valid driver’s license. Dashcam video showed that the officer stopped the wrong vehicle. A different vehicle made the improper turn.

ICE put her in Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where her father Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar had already been for about two weeks after a traffic stop.

The Department of Homeland Security said, “The family will be able to return to Mexico together. Mr. Tovar had ample opportunity to seek a legal pathway to citizenship. He chose not to. We are not ignoring the rule of law.”

Ximena has two younger sisters who were born in the USA and are therefore citizens, so DHS has declared it will deport citizens. Ximena could not register in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program because it ended before she turned 16. She has no pathway to citizenship on her own. If she marries a USA citizen, that would make her eligible for a green card. DHS has been deporting green card holders in good standing.

Ximena is scheduled for an immigration hearing 11 June 2025. A GoFundMe campaign immediately began raising money for her legal defense and her detention sparked community protests.

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