The Georgia college student in federal custody who could be deported after she was pulled over by local cops should have never been stopped, officials admitted Monday.
Mexican national Ximena Arias-Cristobal was wrongly accused by Dalton police of making an illegal turn at a red light after an officer confused her with another driver on May 5, city leaders said in a press release.
During the stop, authorities said the 19-year-old, who is in the country illegally, didn’t have a proper driver’s license and was taken into custody at the scene and later detained by immigration enforcement authorities.
While all charges have been dropped by Dalton police, Arias-Cristobel’s lawyer told The Post it’s “too little, too late” for his client, who remains in custody Monday.
“It’s super maddening,” said attorney Dustin Baxter of Kuck Baxter Immigration.
“We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and say there was no ill intent on the part of this police officer, it’s just heartbreaking that a mistake by a police officer cost this person her freedom ultimately and may cost her her residency in the United States.”
Arias-Cristobel’s legal turmoil began when police believed she failed to adhere to a “no turn on red” sign and was then found to not have a proper driver’s license, according to an arrest report.
She told an officer she had an international driver’s license, the report states.
“My understanding is she didn’t drive very often just because of the general fear in that part of the state of driving because there are a lot of roadblocks and traffic stops,” Baxter said, adding the stop was “her worst nightmare.”
A review of the dashcam footage showed the Dalton police officer witnessed a black pickup truck make an illegal turn on red, but he was unable to pull the car over right away, officials said.
As the officer looked for the offending truck, he instead pulled over Arias-Cristobel’s dark gray Dodge truck, the city said.
The dashcam video obtained by Fox 5 Atlanta shows the cop car trailing her truck and eventually pulling her over in a parking lot. She told the cop the Dodge belonged to her mother’s friend whom she was helping, the footage shows.
When the officer determined she didn’t have a license, he slapped handcuffs on her.
“So in the state of Georgia, when you drive without a license, you know what happens? You ever been to jail? Well, you’re going,” the cop said, according to footage also obtained by WTVC.
The Dalton State Community College student has been at federal Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Ga. since last week after she was initially booked at Whitfield County Jail — which has a partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, has also been in that same federal facility ahead of possible deportation since last month after he was pulled over for allegedly speeding.
The family came to the United States illegally in 2010 from Mexico when Arias-Cristobel was just 4 years old, officials have said.
A hearing is set for May 20 in which Baxter will attempt to convince an immigration court Arias-Cristobel isn’t a danger to the community or flight risk, and should be released before her deportation hearing at a later date.
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