Dalton State student speaks out after ‘improper’ arrest, immigration detention

Caption

Jose Arias-Tovar embraces his 19-year-old daughter Ximena (right) and her younger sisters in Atlanta on May 27, 2025.

Credit: Sofi Gratas/GPB News

Ximena Arias-Cristobal, the 19-year-old recently released by immigration enforcement, could have a path to U.S. citizenship based on what her attorneys claim was an improper arrest.  

The college student was jailed in Dalton in early May for driving without a license, though after her arrest, police said she didn’t actually commit a traffic violation.

• RELATED: 19-year-old who was sent to immigration detention following dropped traffic charges gets bond 

Almost a week since her release from Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia, Arias-Cristobal's legal team told press on Tuesday they’re now pursuing U nonimmigrant status for her, also known as a U visa, which can provide temporary protection to non-citizens who are victims of crimes. 

“If we come to understand that she was a victim of a false arrest, then that would qualify her for a U visa," attorney Dustin Baxter said.  

Baxter said the legal team is engaged in an “investigation” of the Dalton Police Department and of Arias-Cristobal's arrest by former Dalton officer Leslie O’Neal, who quit his job.  

“We're not alleging that this officer is out there arresting people falsely," Baxter said. "But we wouldn't be doing our job if we weren't looking into this. And based on other things we've heard in the community, we're concerned that this may be something that's happening regularly.”  

Baxter said that they are looking into other potential cases of profiling during traffic stops, and plan to bring them to the city’s attention.  

A spokesperson for the City of Dalton said in a statement that "racial profiling is against the policies of the Dalton Police Department and also contrary to what the department stands for." 

It can take years for a U visa application to go through. If it does in the case of a minor, like Arias-Cristobal, family members can petition for the same status. Both of Arias-Cristobal's parents are without legal U.S. citizenship.  

If they can’t prove a false arrest, Baxter said Arias-Cristobal's immigration case will likely be tied to that of her father, Jose Arias-Tovar, who is at this point applying for deportation cancellation. 

According to records from the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Department, the number of people placed on ICE detainers has tripled since last year. Whitfield County has the longest standing partnership with Immigration and Customs Enforcement through the 287(g) program.  

• RELATED: In Dalton, a community rallies for the release of student detained by immigration officials 

Even under current policy, in which the federal government is prioritizing the removal of people without legal U.S. citizenship, longtime immigration attorney Charles Kuck said those most at risk of deportation fall under different circumstances than Arias-Cristobal and her family.  

“The folks that you see being deported right away typically have deportation orders, generally speaking, or they have criminal convictions that make them immediately deportable, or they've been here less than two years,” Kuck said.  

Families without a criminal record, and who have “long established ties with the community” are still being detained, but have a better chance at getting bond or relief from removal orders, Kuck said.  

Caption

Ximena Arias-Cristobal speaks at a press conference in Atlanta on May 27, 2025, in front of one of her attorneys, immigration lawyer Charles Kuck.

Credit: Sofi Gratas/GPB News

While she was in ICE detention, Arias-Cristobal said she met several people close to her age “also treated very unjust.”  

She spent more than two weeks in Stewart Detention center and said that her friend group in detention was made up of other young adults with similar stories to her.  

Since coming home, Ximena said her life has been on hold, and she is afraid to leave the house.  

"I do live in fear now; so does my family,” she said. “My life is completely different, my life was turned upside down. I used to run every single day, go to the gym, hang out with friends on a daily and that's not something I can do anymore because I do think I am a target in my community.” 

While she was able to take her final exams at Dalton State College when she returned, Ximena said she is delaying her next semester of college because she is “not in the right headspace” to return.  

Ximena’s Christian faith and gratitude for her parents is helping her persevere. 

“My parents literally crossed mountains and rivers to be able to get here,” Arias-Cristobal said. “And if I can stay here in the United States, as my dad says, the sky is the limit.”