A Georgia college student remains in ICE detention after police pulled her over by mistake.
Scripps News obtained video of a traffic stop and arrest of Georgia college student Ximena Arias-Cristobal, mistakenly pulled over by police. She was taken to jail and later detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where she remains in custody.
Dashboard camera video from a vehicle driven by a Dalton Police officer shows a black pickup truck driving past the car on May 5.
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Off camera, the officer allegedly sees the driver of the truck make an illegal right turn on red at a busy intersection.
The officer pursues what he thinks is the pickup truck but mistakenly pulls over a dark gray truck instead, driven by Arias-Cristobal.
The 19-year-old tells the officer she has an international license, but does not have it on her.
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The officer then arrests her for the illegal right turn on red, not realizing she was not the driver he saw commit the violation, and also cites her for driving without a license.
“In the state of Georgia, when you’re driving without a license, do you know what happens?” the officer asks.
“No, sir,” Arias-Cristobal responds.
“You ever been to jail?” He asks.
“No, sir,” she responds.
"Well, you’re going,” the officer says.
“I cannot go to jail, I have my finals next week and my family really depends on this,” Arias-Cristobal says.
The attorney for Arias-Cristobal said she was brought to the U.S. illegally with her family 15 years ago, when she was 4.
After reviewing the video, authorities in Georgia dropped the traffic charges against Arias-Cristobal, acknowledging she should not have been pulled over. ICE is still able to deport her since she is not in the country legally. Homeland Security has said she will be sent to Mexico along with other family members.
