Georgia teen Ximena Arias Cristobal is still slated for deportation even though it was confirmed that she was wrongly detained and the charges stemming from the incident have been dropped, CBS News reported on Wednesday.
Arias Cristobal, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 4-years-old, is still being held in an ICE facility in the state. Speaking to the outlet, she said her biggest worry is not being able to stay in the country she has spent most of her life in.
"My life is here, and I'm scared I'm going to have to start all over again in a country that I don't know," Arias Cristobal said. She was arrested on May 5 after being charged with making an improper turn and driving without a license.
However, authorities dropped the charges this week after the Dalton Police Department announced that dashcam footage showed Arias-Cristobal was not driving the vehicle that committed the traffic offense.
According to the New York Post, city officials said a vehicle similar to the one Arias-Cristobal was driving turned right at a red light. The officer misidentified her vehicle and initiated the stop.
Dashcam footage obtained by Fox 5 Atlanta shows the officer observing a black pickup truck make the illegal turn. After following the truck's path for several blocks, the officer instead stopped Arias-Cristobal's dark gray Dodge truck.
Once pulled over in a parking lot, Arias-Cristobal told the officer the vehicle belonged to her mother's friend whom she was helping. When the officer discovered she did not have a valid driver's license, she was arrested.
Dashcam footage also reviewed by WTVC shows the officer telling Arias-Cristobal: "So in the state of Georgia, when you drive without a license, you know what happens? You ever been to jail? Well, you're going."
At a news conference Monday, Dalton Assistant Police Chief Chris Crosser called the incident a "regrettable" mistake and confirmed an internal review is underway.
However, Arias Cristobal is still being held at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin. Her father, Jose Francisco Arias-Tovar, is also there. He was detained two weeks earlier after being stopped for driving 19 miles per hour over the speed limit.
In a statement given to CBS News, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the facts in Arias Cristobal's case "haven't changed." "Both father and daughter were in this country illegally and they have to face the consequences," she added.
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