Officials drop traffic charges that led ICE to arrest 19-year-old Georgia teen

Dalton, Georgia — Local authorities in Dalton, Georgia, on Monday dismissed the traffic charges that led Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain a 19-year-old Mexican-born college student who has lived in the United States since she was 4.

Ximena Arias Cristobal, who is in the country without authorization, was taken into ICE custody earlier this month after a May 5 traffic stop in Dalton, where she lives with her family. Local police cited her for making an improper turn and driving without a license before booking her into the Whitfield County Jail in Dalton, where she was picked up by ICE officers.

But the Dalton Police Department and the city's prosecutor announced on Monday they had reviewed dashboard camera footage of the traffic stop and determined that the officer had stopped the wrong vehicle. Officials said the vehicle that made the improper turn was similar to the truck Arias Cristobal was driving.