The Georgia Immigrant Rights Alliance (GIRA) celebrates the news that Ximena Arias-Cristobal has reunited with her family. Her release is a testament to the power of community advocacy and public pressure, and we are grateful to every person and organization who stood up for her freedom.
But let us be clear: Ximena should never have been detained in the first place.
Her arrest and detention are the direct result of a cruel and unjust immigration enforcement system that criminalizes our communities and tears families apart. Ximena’s case is not an isolated incident; it is part of a larger pattern fueled by dangerous policies like the Laken Riley Act and programs such as 287(g), which entangle local law enforcement with federal immigration agencies and invite racial profiling, discrimination, and fear.
HB 1105, signed into law in 2024, mandates local law enforcement agencies to enter into 287(g) agreements and comply with ICE detainers, effectively turning local jails into extensions of the deportation pipeline. 287(g) agreements allows local sheriffs to act as immigration agents, undermining trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement. These policies don’t make Georgians safer. They make immigrants more vulnerable.
At the federal level, the Laken Riley Act does nothing to address real safety concerns and instead threatens to increase the wrongful detention and deportation of individuals like Ximena— people who are part of the fabric of our communities.
GIRA stands with Ximena, her family, and all immigrants who are targeted by these unjust systems. We will not stop fighting until every Georgian— regardless of immigration status— can live free from fear, with dignity and respect.
We encourage our community members to support Ximena’s case as well as additional families in similar situations who are in need of funds and resources as they navigate our nation’s complex and broken immigration system.
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