The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is defending the detention of a 19-year-old college student in Georgia who was found to be living in the U.S. without legal status following a traffic stop earlier this week.
Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a Mexican national, was pulled over on May 5 in Dalton, Georgia, after allegedly making an illegal right turn on red and driving without a license, according to a police report obtained by WTVC in Chattanooga. Officers noted she did not have a valid driver’s license, though she reportedly possessed an international driving permit that her mother had taken from her. She was arrested and booked into Whitfield County Jail, then later transferred to the Stewart Detention Center, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in southwest Georgia.
According to DHS, Arias-Cristobal admitted to being in the U.S. unlawfully and has no active application pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
A GoFundMe page launched to help pay for her bond and legal fees claims Arias-Cristobal came to the U.S. with her parents in 2010 when she was just 4 years old. The fundraiser, created by Hannah Jones, a longtime family friend, says Arias-Cristobal did not qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
“She has babysat for my kids for years. We adore her. Ximena is my close friend and my children’s favorite babysitter,” Jones wrote on the fundraising page.
Arias-Cristobal’s father, 43-year-old Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, was also arrested recently for speeding and driving without a license. He is now being held at the same ICE facility. DHS confirmed he too admitted to being in the U.S. illegally.
“The family will be able to return to Mexico together,” DHS said in a statement. “Mr. Tovar had ample opportunity to seek a legal pathway to citizenship. He chose not to. We are not ignoring the rule of law.”
The agency also reiterated that undocumented individuals have the option to voluntarily leave the U.S. using the CBP One mobile app, which may allow them to apply for legal reentry in the future through official channels.
