Georgia College Student Says Her Life Has Been ‘Turned Upside Down’ By ICE Arrest
Dreamer Ximena Arias-Cristobal, who has lived in the U.S. since she was four, “should never have been arrested,” her attorney said. “She should never have been put in this situation.”
While Georgia Dreamer Ximena Arias-Cristobal is now free from ICE detention, her nightmare is nowhere close to over. During her first press conference since winning her freedom last week, the Dalton State College freshman said that she’s living in anxiety and struggling to continue the studies interrupted by the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant obsession.
"I have not been able to enjoy life since I've gotten back because I do live in fear now and so does my family," she said on Tuesday. "My life is completely different, my life was turned upside down." And while she’s now back home with her family where she belongs, she still faces deportation to Mexico despite having called the U.S. her home since she was just four.
But the 19-year-old also selflessly said that it’s not just about her, noting that millions of our immigrant neighbors are also anxious about their futures. She said she met some of these individuals while detained at Georgia’s Stewart Detention Facility, a private prison notorious “for abuse, medical neglect, and in-custody deaths,” journalist Tina Vasquez reported in 2021.
“It's not only my case but millions of people are going through this in the United States, and at Stewart, I met a lot of people that are going through tougher situations than me, and I think they deserve justice because they are not criminals,” Arias-Cristobal said. She noted that some detained immigrants at Stewart feel that they’re being forced into agreeing to be deported.
Officials “pressure us,” she said, “and we don't get any information on our case unless you have an attorney.”
Now back home after a federal judge released her on bond, she wants to get back to her life but finds herself struggling, notably in her studies at Dalton State College. Sadly, she’s not alone. The Trump administration’s attacks on universities and young people like Arias-Cristobal have left many international students and prospective enrollees wondering whether a higher education in the U.S. is worth the risk.
School officials “will allow me to take my finals that I wasn't able to take because I got arrested,” Arias-Cristobal continued. “I did have summer classes, but because of everything going on, I don't think I'm in the right headspace to start those summer classes." Arias-Cristobal continued to detail her ordeal during an appearance on MSNBC. “Welcome home” balloons were visible behind the college student:
Arias-Cristobal’s ordeal began when she was pulled over for what local police initially claimed was a traffic violation. “I cannot go to jail,” she pleaded to the officer. “I have my finals next week. My family depends on this.” ICE then took her into custody after she was booked into the county jail, highlighting the risks posed to communities when local police collude with mass deportation agents.
The traffic stop also ensnared her dad. Construction business owner Jose Arias-Tovar, like his daughter, has no criminal record. He has also since been released.
“Given her time in the U.S. and lack of a criminal record, local community members,” including Dalton’s representative in the state legislature,”expressed support for Arias Cristobal and called for her release,” CBS News reported May 22. “Community outrage intensified once Dalton authorities dismissed the traffic charges against Arias Cristobal after revealing she had been mistakenly stopped by the police officer who arrested her,” finally winning her freedom late last week.
"The judge had reviewed Ximena's case in detail and determined that Ximena is in fact not a flight risk or a danger to the community in the least," attorney Dustin Baxter said. "The Department of Homeland Security indicated that it would not appeal the judge's decision,” underscoring that even the administration itself doesn’t believe that their target poses any sort of risk to the community.
The actual risks: the administration’s demand for $175 billion in taxpayer dollars to turbocharge abductions and family separation, expand chaotic and unsparing arrests that have also ensnared U.S. citizens and green card-holders, and further pad the pockets of private prison executives. Recent reporting says that shadow president Stephen Miller berated top ICE officials for not arresting enough immigrants, ensuring there will be more Ximenas. A better way would be to allow long-settled immigrants to stay here and continue contributing.
“But because of outdated and cruel policies, she can’t get a driver’s license, a valid ID, or apply for legal status,” said TheDream.US. “And she’s been ineligible to apply into the DACA program due to ongoing legal challenges that have barred younger applicants into the program.”
Her attorney, Dustin Baxter, used a portion of the press conference to address certain claims that Arias-Cristobal and her dad “didn't bother to do anything to try and adjust their status, to try to get a visa or work permit or anything else, and because of that, they might as well be deported now.” Baxter said this is “false because there was nothing that Jose and Ximena could have done before now to get any lawful status.”
“They tried,” Baxter continued. “They met with attorneys, they reviewed their case, their options, whether it be through Jose’s business, through the fact that he has U.S. citizen children. There was nothing that they could do to come out of the shadows, and become official members of this country that they love. It just wasn’t a possibility.” He noted that her unjust arrest highlights why the nation needs “permanent protections for Dreamers.”
Arias-Cristobal “should never have been arrested,” Baxter said. “She should never have been taken to Stewart. She should never have been put in this situation.”
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