When police stopped 19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal in Georgia on May 5, they accused her of making an improper turn and driving without a valid driver’s license.
A week later, all traffic-related charges against her were dropped after dashcam video of the traffic stop showed that the officer meant to stop another vehicle. But Arias-Cristobal is a Dreamer, an undocumented immigrant brought to the US as a child, and the incident caught the attention of immigration authorities.
She was detained, spent two days in county jail, and two and a half weeks at an immigration detention center in rural Georgia. Now, she’s facing possible deportation.
Her case shows what nearly 2.5 million Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children, face living in the U.S. as the Trump administration escalates the rate of deportations, even for those who don’t have criminal charges or convictions. The president’s campaign vows promising to use deportations to punish violent criminals are sweeping up many non-offenders in the process.
Arias-Cristobal has lived in Georgia for 15 years, since coming to the US at 4 years old, and now attends Oglethorpe University thanks to TheDream.US, a national scholarship program for undocumented youth. She’s pursuing a degree in finance and economics at Dalton State Community College.
Speaking to reporters at a conference by America’s Voice, Arias-Cristobal detailed the life-altering impact the experience had on her. She recounted being shackled at the waist, ankles, and wrists.
“This isn’t just an immigration issue, it’s a human rights issue,” said Arias-Cristobal. “People are being stripped of their dignity and basic freedoms, and it is something we cannot ignore. I am not just an immigrant, I am a human being, I am a Georgian, and I am an American without papers. No one should have to go through something like this.”
“Dreamers are under attack,” said Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US. “Ximena’s story is not isolated, sadly. In recent months multiple TheDream.US Scholars and Alumni have either been arrested, detained, and even deported.”
“We were hearing the Trump administration’s campaign promise to deport over 10 million people,” Pacheco continued. “They’re not going to be able to do that just alone with the current budget they have. We have seen in the bills that they have been introducing an $81 billion request for enforcement. We are becoming a police state.”
Arias-Cristobal’s arrest sparked outrage and protests in her hometown.
Protests have also broken out in cities across the country over the escalating ICE raids, including in Los Angeles, where over the weekend hundreds of protestors clashed with immigration enforcement officials. The Trump Administration quickly escalated, calling in National Guard troops without prior approval from California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, who has called the move illegal and a “violation of California’s sovereignty.”
The last time a president federalized the National Guard was in the 1960s when President Johnson ordered Guards to defend civil rights protesters.
Trump’s actions drew quick backlash from California leaders. The state is now suing the Trump Administration to halt the deployment.
Protests in San Francisco on Sunday night also saw 155 arrests and two officers injured, with more protests planned for Monday.
Ximena’s father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, meanwhile, is being held at the same facility his daughter was – Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. He was detained about a month ago, also following a traffic stop.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a post on X that Arias-Tovar “admitted that he is in the country illegally.”
“The family will be able to return to Mexico together,” the department said. “Mr. Tovar had ample opportunity to seek a legal pathway to citizenship. He chose not to. We are not ignoring the rule of law.”
As she fights her case, Arias-Cristobal said she hopes to “have a future here in the United States” and “be a voice” for the many other people in her situation.
