Days before she was supposed to take her final exams, Dalton State College student Ximena Arias-Cristobal was mistakenly pulled over by a city police officer.
During that traffic stop, Dalton police discovered Arias-Cristobal was undocumented. She was brought to the U.S. with her family at only 4 years old. The 19-year-old was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be held at the privately-run Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.
The department later admitted former officer Leslie O’Neal stopped the wrong truck for an illegal turn. He has since resigned from his position at the Dalton Police Department.
Arias-Cristobal was detained for more than two weeks, in the same center where her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, was also sent after being arrested for speeding in Whitfield County. Both have now been released on bond and reunited with their family.
Through it all, Arias-Cristobal is still optimistic about her future here. She sat down with WABE’s “Morning Edition” and started by discussing how she’s been launched into the role as an advocate for her Dalton community, which is more than 50% Hispanic and Latino and relies heavily on immigrant labor.
