The 19-year-old Mexican national at the center of the latest illegal immigration controversy will be home with her family in Dalton by Thursday night, according to her attorney.
An judge issued a $1,500 bond at a hearing Wednesday to Ximena Arias-Cristobal, a student at Dalton Community College, arrested last week on traffic charges after a case of mistaken identity. Arias-Cristobal must still go before an immigration judge to hear her plea to remain in the U.S. but her attorney said that hearing will be in one to two years.
Arias-Cristobal was born in Mexico but arrived in the United States with her parents illegally when she was 4 years old. The Deferred Action for Childhod Arrivals (DACA) program that protected arriving children from being deported as teens and adults ended before she was old enough to qualify, according to her parents.
The teen was driving without a license when Dalton police pulled her over on suspicion of making an improper turn. They arrested her once she told them she didn’t have a license. She had an international license but left it at home, reports said.
As it turns out, police stopped the wrong vehicle and all traffic charges were dropped against Arias-Cristobal. However, she was taken into ICE custody because of her illegal status. Her father had a similar situation happen to him two weeks prior. Tunnel Hill police stopped him for speeding and discovered he had an international license rather than a valid Georgia driver’s license. He was released last week with an immigration bond.
The Department of Homeland Security is encouraging to family to self-deport. Those who self-deport can come back into the U.S. under legal regulations. Those who are deported are not allowed to re-enter the U.S. The U.S. government is currently offering $1,000 per individual and a free flight home for those who self-deport.
For more information on how someone becomes an American citizen, click here.