A Georgia police officer has resigned following public backlash over a wrongful traffic stop that led to the ICE detention of Ximena Arias Cristobal, a 19-year-old undocumented college student who was arrested and held for more than two weeks before being released on bond.
The officer’s resignation was confirmed Saturday by Bruce Frazier, a spokesperson for the City of Dalton, who stated that the Dalton Police Department would not be issuing a statement regarding the departure and provided no details about the officer’s identity or reason for resigning.
Mistaken Traffic Stop and ICE Transfer
On May 5, Arias Cristobal was pulled over and cited by a Dalton police officer for making an improper turn and driving without a license. She was arrested and booked into the Whitfield County Jail, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) later assumed custody.
Dashcam footage later revealed the officer had pulled over the wrong vehicle. The actual improper turn was committed by a similar truck. Once reviewed, the Dalton Police Department dropped the charges on May 12, but by then, Arias Cristobal had already been transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.
In the dashcam footage, the officer is heard telling Arias Cristobal, “You ever been to jail?” When she responded, “No, sir,” the officer said, “Well, you’re going.”
A visibly distressed Arias Cristobal pleaded:
“I cannot go to jail. I have my finals next week. My family depends on this.”
Legal Ramifications and Immigration Proceedings
Although the local traffic charges have been dismissed, Arias Cristobal remains in active removal proceedings in immigration court. An immigration judge granted her release on bond on May 22, following more than two weeks in detention. Her father, who was similarly detained by ICE in April after a separate traffic stop, was also granted bond and released from the same detention center.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement affirming its position that both Arias Cristobal and her father should face “consequences” for being in the United States without legal status. Their deportation cases remain pending.
The incident has reignited concerns about how routine traffic stops can trigger federal immigration consequences, even when the underlying cause for the stop is baseless.
Civil rights attorneys and immigration advocates argue that Arias Cristobal’s arrest raises due process questions under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.
“This is a textbook case of how misinformation and improper policing disproportionately harm immigrants—especially young, undocumented individuals striving to build a future here,” said one immigration attorney not affiliated with the case.
The officer’s resignation, though not accompanied by an official admission of wrongdoing, may be seen as an effort to contain reputational damage to the department.
But legal experts say the resignation does not absolve the underlying civil rights concerns now attached to Arias Cristobal’s case.
