Dalton city authorities have dropped charges against Ximena Arias-Cristobal, the 19-year-old college student whose arrest over an improper turn landed her in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Arias-Cristobal, a Dalton College student, was arrested May 5 for allegedly turning right on a red light, disregarding a “no turn on red” sign. She was also cited for driving without a license.
Police now say another driver in a different car committed the traffic violation that led to Arias-Cristobal being stopped — and then placed in deportation proceedings — as confirmed by a review of police dashcam footage, which was publicly released.
“After a review of the dashcam video of the traffic stop, it was determined that Ms. Arias-Cristobal’s vehicle appeared similar to the offending vehicle but was not the vehicle that made an improper turn,” the Dalton Police Department said in a statement.
According to Dalton police, video from the May 5 incident revealed that it was a black pickup truck that made the illegal turn.
The officer attempted to pursue the truck, but had to wait behind another vehicle stopped at a red light. In the meantime, a line of other cars followed in the direction of the black pickup truck, including a dark gray pickup truck driven by Arias-Cristobal.
The officer stopped Arias-Cristobal when it caught up with her.
Dalton’s city attorney notified Arias-Cristobal’s legal team of the decision to drop the case on Monday.
Although Arias-Cristobal was not behind the wheel of the car police meant to pull over, she will remain in ICE custody at the Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia. Deportations are governed by federal law and administered by federal agencies.
Even without local criminal charges, immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization are subject to removal.
Arias-Cristobal was transported to Stewart from Whitfield County Jail last week, after police determined that she lacked legal status and contacted ICE.
There she joined her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, ICE records show. He was arrested and subsequently placed in ICE detention over a traffic violation late last month. A police report obtained by television station WTVC shows he was picked up in Tunnel Hill for going 19 miles over the speed limit.
According to WTVC, Arias-Cristobal has a bond hearing scheduled for May 20. A final hearing to determine whether she will be able to remain in the country would be months later.
In an interview with Arias-Cristobal’s mother, WTVC confirmed the family entered the U.S. illegally, settling in Whitfield County in 2010.
Even though she arrived in the U.S. at age 4, Arias-Cristobal did not qualify for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that protected beneficiaries from deportation. Only people who have lived in the country continuously since 2007 were DACA-eligible.
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