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May 30, 2025  |  
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NextImg:College Student Held In ICE Detention After Making Improper Turn On Red
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A Georgia college student who has lived in the U.S. since she was 4 was placed in ICE custody and is now facing possible deportation after being pulled over for making an improper right turn at a traffic light.

Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a 19-year-old Dalton State College student, was pulled over by Dalton police on Monday after she turned right, disregarding a “no turn on red” sign, according to a police report obtained by HuffPost.

Arias-Cristobal allegedly told officers that she had an international driver’s license, but did not have it with her at that moment. Police then arrested her for driving without a valid driver’s license and for making a right turn on red.

A spokesperson for the Dalton Police Department told HuffPost that officers are required to arrest individuals who are driving without a license and do not have the discretion to not arrest for that offense.

The spokesperson continued by saying that Arias-Cristobal was taken to Whitfield County Jail following her arrest and clarified that the facility is operated by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, not local police.

Ximena Arias-Cristobal was placed in ICE detention after making an improper turn at a red light.
Ximena Arias-Cristobal was placed in ICE detention after making an improper turn at a red light.
GoFundMe/ Hannah Jones

ICE did not immediately respond to HuffPost, but Arias-Crisobal’s family members told ABC affiliate WTCV that the teen is now being held at Stewart Detention Center with her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, who was taken into custody two weeks ago for going 19 miles over the speed limit. The facility is located near Columbus, Georgia.

According to the outlet, Whitfield County has had a “jail enforcement model” agreement with ICE since June of 2020, which allows ICE to identify and take custody of “removable” immigrants arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies.

Arias-Tovar’s wife told the outlet her husband does not have a criminal record, owns a construction company, and pays taxes.

Translating for her mother, Arias-Cristobal’s younger sister told WTCV: “My dad has his own company, and they called a lawyer to see if they could get a job permit or a visa, and they said that they hadn’t hit that status to get one yet.”

Hannah Jones, who said Arias-Cristobal has been her family’s longtime babysitter, wrote in a GoFundMe that the detained teen “came to this country in 2010 at the age of 4” and “did not qualify for DACA,” because her family had arrived in the U.S. after the cutoff date to qualify for the program, which gives certain undocumented people who arrived in America as children protection from deportation.

Jones’ fundraiser has raised more than $50,000 for Arias-Cristobal’s attorney fees and bond.

Arias-Cristobal’s mother and younger sister told WTVC their family came into the U.S. illegally “with big dreams” and hope for a brighter future.

“My sister goes to college, and she was an honor student since middle school. And she runs. She loves to run. It’s her passion, and the only reason they came is to follow my sister’s dreams,” the teen’s sister told the outlet.