The Daily Populous Tuesday May 13rd, 2025 evening edition
Authored by abcnews.go.com and submitted by jeetah

City officials confirmed the stop, which led to her detainment, was an error.

A 19-year-old college student from Georgia remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a mistaken traffic violation led to her detainment, records show.

A 19-year-old college student from Georgia remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody after a traffic stop led to her detainment, records show.

Ximena Arias-Cristobal was arrested on May 5 in Dalton, Georgia, when her dark gray truck was mistaken for a black pickup that made an illegal turn.

The Dalton Police Department announced on Monday that a review of dash cam video showed she was not the driver who committed the traffic violation and all charges against her have been dropped.

City officials -- including the city administrator, prosecuting attorney and city attorney -- confirmed the stop was in error and notified Arias-Cristobal's legal team.

A 19-year-old college student from Georgia remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after a mistaken traffic violation led to her detainment, records show. WTVC

Despite the dismissal of charges on Monday, the 19-year-old Dalton State College student had been taken into ICE custody following the traffic stop and remained in custody on Monday, triggering concerns about her immigration status.

Arias-Cristobal, who is undocumented, has lived in Whitfield County since she was 4 years old, her family told ABC News' Tennessee affiliate WTVC.

Her family said that Arias-Cristobal was not eligible to register in the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program because it had ended.

Arias-Cristobal is being held at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, ICE records show.

Her attorney, Charles Kuck, said in a statement to ABC News that despite the charges being dropped, Arias-Cristobal is "inside the Trump deportation machinery" and is still facing deportation.

Arias-Cristobal has a bond hearing next week, her attorney said.

According to WTVC, Arias-Cristobal's father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, was similarly detained by police in Tunnel Hill, Georgia, two weeks ago for going 19 miles over the speed limit.

The family told the outlet that he is being housed at the same ICE detention center.

Nachofriendguy864 on May 13rd, 2025 at 14:04 UTC »

The article makes it sound like she actually is and always has been undocumented. I'm asking because I truly have no idea; how does an undocumented person obtain a driver's license and enroll in a university?

Kals22 on May 13rd, 2025 at 13:54 UTC »

Reading the article it says she’s been in the U.S. since she was 4yo but her parents say she couldn’t register under DACA since the program ended. I thought DACA is technically still in place? Or at least it shouldve been 10 years ago unless I’m reading this wrong

Tricky_Pollution9368 on May 13rd, 2025 at 13:30 UTC »

I'd like to know how she ended up in ICE custody. She gets pulled over by mistake (charges have already been dismissed), and then what? Are the cops asking for the immigration status of everyone they pull over? Was she driving without a DL which triggers inquiry and then ICE arrives to detain her while they figure out if she's legal? Same with her father who got pulled over going 19mph over the limit. For most people, this is a ticket and then you go home. What is going on between them getting pulled over and detained so they end up with ICE? Because ICE can't pull people over.

There is no central registry of citizens. The only documents which prove your citizenship are your passport, naturalization certificate, or birth certificate, which most people don't carry with them at all times.. Which to me means that cops are looping in ICE on anyone they may suspect to be undocumented... and I don't see how that isn't effectively just racial profiling on Latinos in the United States.