For Immediate Release: May 20, 2025
Contact: Fermin Vasquez at [email protected]
Today: Bond Hearing in Case of Georgia Dreamer and College Student Ximena Arias Cristobal
Washington, DC – This afternoon, Georgia immigration judge Judge Njeri Maldonado will preside over a bond hearing in the case of Ximena Arias Cristobal, the 19-year old Dreamer college student and recipient of TheDream.US National Scholarship who is being held in a ICE detention center in Georgia.
As a community-led Change.org petition notes, today’s bond hearing “is an opportunity for Judge Maldonado to recognize Ximena’s ties to the community, her commitment to education, and her potential to contribute positively to society. Granting a bond would allow Ximena to return to her studies and her family while awaiting further legal proceedings, unrestrained by unnecessary confinement” (sign the Change.org petition: “Urge Immigration Judge to Grant Bond to Ximena Arias Cristobal”).
According to Gaby Pacheco, President and CEO of TheDream.US, the nation’s largest college and career success program for Dreamers:
“Ximena’s community has rallied around her case and called for her release for good reason – it makes no sense for our nation to have her in detention or deported to a country she doesn’t know.
She arrived here when she was just 4 years old – she grew up here, studied hard, and is an older sister to two U.S. citizens. She earned our TheDream.US National Scholarship because of her potential and commitment to her community. But because of outdated and cruel policies, she can’t get a driver’s license, a valid ID, or apply for legal status. And she’s been ineligible to apply into the DACA program due to ongoing legal challenges that have barred younger applicants into the program. Her detention and uncertain future are the result of decades of policy failure under presidents and Congresses controlled by both parties.
So we ask: is the answer really to discard and deport her or other Dreamers like her? To deport her to a country she doesn’t know? No, it isn’t.
Dreamers like Ximena should have a way to study, succeed, live and contribute as legal residents and eventually U.S. citizens. It’s incumbent on anyone horrified by her case to recognize that passing legislation such as the Dream Act is the only way to ensure that Dreamers like Ximena are treated with dignity, fairness, and the opportunity they deserve and our nation will immeasurably benefit from.”
According to Charles Kuck, Ximena’s attorney and founding partner of Kuck Baxter immigration law firm:
“We believe everyone, including every immigrant, has the right to due process, and a large part of that due process is being free from detention while fighting your case. This is especially true for someone who has committed no detainable offense. We will keep fighting for Ximena.”
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s largest college and career success program for undocumented immigrant students, having provided more than 11,000 college scholarships to Dreamers attending close to 80 partner colleges in 20 states and Washington, DC. We believe everyone, regardless of where they were born, should have equitable access to a college education, a meaningful career, and opportunities to contribute to the communities they call home. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us.
Read TheDream.US 10-year impact report: “From Dreams to Destinations: A Decade of Immigrant Achievements and the Future Ahead.” Filled with never-released data and snapshot profiles of some of the organization’s 4,000-plus Alumni, the report documents how increased access to higher education and career opportunities catalyze social mobility and positive outcomes for individual Dreamers, as well as their families, workplaces, and broader communities.
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