Bond granted for Ximena Arias-Cristobal, student mistakenly arrested

Ximena Arias-Cristobal, 19, was arrested in Dalton, Georgia, following a traffic stop. Bond was granted on Wednesday, leading to her finally being released Thursday.

DALTON, Ga. — The Georgia teen who was taken into ICE custody after being mistakenly arrested by Dalton Police following a traffic stop is finally headed home, her attorney said.

Ximena Arias-Cristobal was granted bond at a hearing Wednesday. Her attorney, Dustin Baxter, said her bond was paid early Thursday morning. She was eventually released from custody late Thursday night. 

“We are happy to announce that Ximena was given the minimal amount of bond possible under the law, $1,500. The government did not wish to appeal,” Baxter said Wednesday.

Thursday just before 10 p.m., Baxter told 11Alive she was on her way home.

Arias-Cristobal, a student at Dalton State, was arrested earlier this month after Dalton police pulled her over and accused her of making an illegal turn at a red light. Authorities also said the 19-year-old was driving without the proper license. 

The charges were later dropped by police and the prosecuting attorney of the City of Dalton on May 12 after dashcam video of the traffic stop showed the officer stopped Arias-Cristobal by mistake. 

Officials said a review of the video showed another driver in a similar truck turned improperly, not Arias-Cristobal. Authorities then dropped the charges.  

The 19-year-old’s case has gained national attention as her father, Jose Arias, was also taken to the Stewart Detention Center due to a separate traffic stop that also led to his detainment by immigration authorities. He was granted bond earlier this month. 

“He made an interesting comment to me that his body left Stewart, but his heart stayed there when he had to leave, but his daughter was stuck there. It was bittersweet. He ultimately was super excited to be reunited with his wife and with his other two children, but a part of him stayed behind, and he’s kind of had this cloud hanging over him waiting for that other part to be reunited,” Baxter said. 

Arias-Cristobal’s mother previously told 11Alive that the family crossed the border illegally in 2010, when Arias-Cristobal was just 4 years old. Because of her age and timing, she was not eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) when it was still active.

RELATED: Mother of Georgia teen in ICE detention center hopes for her release

The program was later discontinued under President Donald Trump in 2017, leaving many so-called “Dreamers” without legal options. 

Baxter previously said that Arias is applying for a “cancellation of removal.”

“Because he’s been here for more than 10 years, because he has U.S. citizen children, and because he’s been a person of good moral character, he’s got that case that he’s going to present to the judge. Ximena, however, does not have any qualifying relative. She does not have a US citizen spouse, parent or child,” Baxter explained. “What we’re going to try and do is link her case to her father. So therefore, if her father is granted permanent resident status by winning his case, she would have that qualifying relative, and she would conceivably be approved for permanent residence as well.”

Baxter added they are also looking into the circumstances around her arrest to see if a U visa might be a possibility for her. 

“If we discover that this was a targeted arrest based on profiling and therefore a false arrest, we may make the argument with immigration that she qualifies for a U Visa,” Baxter said. 

As for Arias-Cristobal ending up in ICE custody, the Dalton Police Department didn’t have any part in those proceedings and said  the agency also didn’t report her to immigration authorities. Nevertheless, the department said it is “regrettable” how the case unfolded.

RELATED: Dalton father reunited with family after being released out of ICE custody, daughter remains detained

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