Father released from detention after paying immigration bond
The father of a 19-year-old college student detained by ICE is back home after he paid his immigration bond, according to officials. Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, 43, returned to Dalton Thursday night and will have an immigration hearing scheduled. His daughter, Ximena Arias-Cristobal remains in ICE custody at the Stewart Detention Center in Columbus. Her immigration hearing is May 20.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) isn’t budging on its stance about the two, even though they have tremendous community support and a GoFundMe page to pay legal costs.
“The facts haven’t changed,” writes DHS on the social media platform X. “Both father and daughter were in this country illegally and they have to face the consequences.”
DHS is urging them to take self-deportation so they have the opportunity to come back legally and apply for citizenship. It offered $1,000 each and a free flight to their home country if they self-deport.
“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.
The father and daughter illegally immigrated with the rest of the family to the U.S. from Mexico 15 years ago when she was 4 years old. The DACA program for children entering illegally ended before she could qualify, according to her attorney and family members.
“The family will be able to return to Mexico together. Mr. Tovar had ample opportunity to see a legal pathway to citizenship. He chose not to. We are not ignoring the rule of law,” DHS posted.
Immigration law favors the DHS stance. Immigration enforcement is not a criminal process but an administrative one. People can be detained without committing a crime and without a judicial warrant. All it takes is reasonable suspicion or probable cause they are illegally in the country and can be removed.
The DHS is allowed to arrest and detain non-citizens for removal under Section 235 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. Immigration officers can arrest without a warrant under Section 287 if they believe the person is unlawfully in the U.S. and may escape before a warrant is issued.
Each was detained by ICE after local police stopped them in separate traffic stop incidents. Arias-Tover was stopped by Tunnel Hill police, in Whitfield County, a month ago for speeding. He was charged with going 54 m.p.h. in a 34 m.p.h. zone, according to Tunnel Hill Police Chief Trey Ryder.
The more serious problem was his license. Arias-Tover had an international license, which raised suspicions with police officers. International licenses are notorious for being faked but are a valid identification with conditions.
Ryder said his officer was in communication with him that night and the decision was made to bring Arias-Tover in to properly identify him. That can only be done by fingerprint, the chief said. At that point, it was shown he illegally entered the U.S. so ICE got involved. Once Arias-Tover was released from the Whitefield County Jail on bond, he was detained by ICE and taken to Columbus.
Arias-Tover is charged with speeding and driving without a license. His international driving license doesn’t meet the conditions of legality in Georgia. Non-citizens can drive in Georgia with a valid foreign license if they are tourists or here for business. Those who stay in the state must get a Georgia driver’s license within 30 days. Arias-Tover and his family have been in the U.S. for 15 years, residing in Georgia for most if not all of that time.
Ryder said the vehicle Arias-Tover was driving has insurance and registration by a friend, who owns the vehicle. It was towed and impounded.
Ximena Arias-Cristobal was stopped by Dalton police May 5 after officers saw a vehicle nearly identical to hers make an illegal turn. They stopped her vehicle by mistake and discovered she didn’t have a license. The teen, a student of Dalton State Community College, told officers she had an international license but accidentally left it at home.
Officers had no choice but to arrest her for driving without a license and take her in, according to Bruce Frazier, communications director for the City of Dalton, also in Whitfield County. He said the state law doesn’t allow any leniency on non-licensed drivers.
“In the State of Georgia, you have to arrest someone without a driver’s license,” Frazier said.
Arias-Cristobal was originally charged with the wrong turn and driving without a license but those charges were dropped after police cameras showed officers stopped the wrong vehicle. However, that doesn’t allow her to escape her illegal immigration status since ICE is a federal agency.
Like her father, Arias-Cristobol was driving a friend’s vehicle. The truck was registered to someone else. Once local police detained the 19-year-old for driving without a license, they stopped investigating insurance and ownership of the vehicle. It was later discovered the vehicle was properly registered and insured.
It isn’t known whether either the teen or her father were insured drivers of either vehicle. The truck was also towed and impounded. Both were processed through the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office before ICE was notified.
Officials in Dalton and Tunnel Hill said they have compassion on the family. While some law enforcement in other places may have added other charges to ensure they stay in jail, their officers only charged them with actual offenses. An officer allowed Arias-Tovar to remove personal items before the vehicle was towed. Now, their immigration status is out of local officials’ hands.
Melody Dareing is a freelance journalist for publications in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio.