Marjorie Taylor Greene: Teen Detained By ICE After Mistaken Arrest Would Be 'Thriving In Mexico'
A Georgia teen who was arrested earlier this month after being mistakenly pulled over at a traffic stop was released from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement custody on Thursday.
In an interview the same day, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that the young woman, who is undocumented, should be deported.
'My life won't be the same,' Ximena Arias-Cristobal, 19, told NBC affiliate WXIA-TV, reflecting on her time at Stewart Detention Center. 'I think it's changed me as a person, like I said, I guess be more humble, understand people more and just be able to see the people around you.'
She was arrested earlier this month on charges of driving without a valid driver's license and for making a right turn on red, but those charges were dropped after the Dalton Police said dash cam footage showed they pulled her over by mistake.
However, the police's mistake landed her in ICE custody.
Arias-Cristobal came to the United States from Mexico when she was 4 and was a student at Dalton State College at the time of her arrest.
Her mother told WXIA that her daughter was not eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that provides certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children with work authorizations and temporary protection from deportation.
Being detained at Stewart is 'something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy,' the 19-year-old told the news outlet.
'It's the conditions and the unknown, it's not knowing what's going to happen to me, knowing that I could be sent back to a country that I don't know, having to be torn apart from my family,' she told the outlet. 'It's also the conditions — you don't get much privacy, you get screamed at for every little thing, the food is horrible, they don't pay attention to you, you get sick and they don't care.'
Dustin Baxter, Arias-Cristobal's attorney, told the outlet it's possible that if they could show his client's arrest was the result of profiling, she could qualify for a 'U Visa,' meant for victims of certain crimes.
Meanwhile, Rep. Greene suggested in an interview with Tennessee-based news outlet WCRB that Arias-Cristobal should be deported.
'The law is the law, and we don't get to pick and choose who gets to break the law and who gets to follow the law,' the MAGA Republican said. 'It's important for us to uphold the law, and that's the most important thing that we can do and our government can do.'
Greene said Arias-Cristobal grew up in a 'great area' and received a 'great education' in the U.S. and would be 'thriving in Mexico' if sent back.
'In Mexico today, there's over 1.6 million United States of America (sic) citizens living and thriving in Mexico, and I'm sure she and her family will be able to do the same,' she stated.
The lawmaker blamed Arias-Cristobal's parents for her situation, claiming they never pursued 'a path to citizenship when they illegally brought her into the country when she was a young child.'
Stewart's father, who was also detained at Stewart after being arrested for a traffic violation, is in the process of applying for a 'cancellation of removal,' Baxter told WXIA. Because her father is a 'person of good moral character,' has been in the U.S. for more than 10 years, and has children who are citizens, he would be 'granted permanent resident status' if he wins his case, the attorney said.
If her father becomes a permanent resident, Arias-Cristobal would then have a 'qualifying relative' that could allow her to become a permanent resident as well, he added.
Teen Remains In ICE Detention Despite Police Admitting To Pulling Her Over By Mistake
Marjorie Taylor Greene Declines To Challenge Jon Ossoff In Georgia Senate Race
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Won't Run For Senate In Blow To GOP
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