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PHOTOS: Dalton College student returns home after ICE detainment

Ximena Arias-Cristobal, the 19-year-old Dalton College student whose arrest following a traffic stop earlier this month landed her in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was released Thursday. Weeks earlier, Arias-Cristobal’s father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, was also sent to ICE detention in South Georgia following a traffic stop in Whitfield County. Police arrested him for speeding.

In an emotional moment, Dalton College student Ximena Arias-Cristobal is embraced by her family, including her dad, Jose Francisco Arias, after she was released from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center when a judge granted her bond on Thursday, May 22, 2025. At one point, Jose Francisco Arias and Ximena were in the same immigration jail due to traffic violations.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

With tears in her eyes, Dalton College student Ximena Arias-Cristobal is embraced by her dad, Jose Francisco Arias, after she was released from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center when a judge granted her bond on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

In an emotional moment, Dalton College student Ximena Arias-Cristobal is embraced by her dad, Jose Francisco Arias, as her mother Ndahitha Cristobal looks on after she was released from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center when a judge granted her bond on Thursday, May 22, 2025. At one point, Jose Francisco Arias and Ximena were in the same immigration jail due to traffic violations.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Dalton College student Ximena Arias-Cristobal speaks to press members outside her house after she was released from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center when a judge granted her bond on Thursday, May 22, 2025. “Our lives are never going to be the same.” Arias-Cristobal said.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Ndahitha Cristobal admires the decorations created by her daughter Ximena Arias-Sandoval’s friends in her room. Ximena will be leaving the Stewart Immigration Detention Center on Thursday, May 22, 2025, to return home.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Ndahitha Cristobal is finishing the last ornaments in her daughter Ximena Arias-Sandoval’s room, who will depart from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center on Thursday, May 22, 2025, to return home.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Jose Francisco Arias reacts as he recalls the weeks that he spent at the Stewart Immigration Detention Center. Now, he and his family await his daughter Ximena Arias-Cristobal, who is set to leave the Stewart Immigration Detention Center and return home on Thursday, May 22, 2025.

(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Ndahitha Cristobal is seen preparing a dish for her daughter Ximena Arias-Sandoval, who will depart from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center on Thursday, May 22, 2025, to return home. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Jose Francisco Arias and his wife, Ndahitha Cristobal, pause to reflect with their daughters, Aurora and Ndahitha Arias-Cristobal, following the announcement that their eldest daughter, Ximena Arias-Sandoval, is set to leave the Stewart Immigration Detention Center and return home on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Ndahitha Cristobal holds a cellphone while Aurora Arias-Cristobal (12) and Ndahitha Arias-Cristobal (9) look at their sister Ximena Arias-Cristobal, who makes a video call after being released from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center, where a judge granted her bond on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Ndahitha Cristobal embraces their daughters, Aurora and Ndahitha Arias-Cristobal, following the announcement that their eldest daughter, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, will be leaving the Stewart Immigration Detention Center to return home on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Jose Francisco Arias and his wife, Ndahitha Cristobal, express their happiness with their daughters Aurora and Ndahitha Arias-Cristobal, in light of the announcement that their eldest daughter, Ximena Arias-Sandoval, is set to depart from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center to return home on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Daita Cristobal holds reacts as she holds a cellphone while her daughter, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, makes a video call after being released from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center, where a judge granted her bond on Thursday, May 22, 2025. The Dalton student was arrested for a traffic violation and placed in immigration detention at the same time as her father, Jose Francisco Arias, who was also in the same facility and was released two days earlier.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Jose Francisco Arias warmly embraces his daughter Daita Arias-Cristobal as his wife, Daita Cristobal, reacts, following the announcement that their eldest daughter, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, will be leaving the Stewart Immigration Detention Center to return home on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Jose Francisco Arias warmly embraces his wife, Daita Cristobal, and their daughters, Aurora and Daita Arias-Cristobal, following the announcement that their eldest daughter, Ximena Arias-Cristobal, will be leaving the Stewart Immigration Detention Center to return home on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC

In an emotional moment, Dalton College student Ximena Arias-Cristobal is embraced by her family, including her dad, Jose Francisco Arias, after she was released from the Stewart Immigration Detention Center when a judge granted her bond on Thursday, May 22, 2025. At one point, Jose Francisco Arias and Ximena were in the same immigration jail due to traffic violations. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

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