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MARIETTA — An illegal immigrant college student whose arrest for a minor traffic violation touched off a wider immigration debate was found guilty Thursday in a suburban Atlanta court of driving without a license. But jurors acquitted the 22-year-old woman of a second charge arising from a campus traffic stop last March.
Jurors in Cobb County found Jessica Colotl guilty of driving without a license after about 30 minutes of deliberations. They acquitted her of a second charge of impeding the flow of traffic stemming from the stop.
"I don't agree with it, but I have to follow the verdict," Colotl said.
Defense Attorney Jerome Lee said Colotl will appeal the guilty verdict.
Police at Kennesaw State University northwest of Atlanta stopped the political science major March 29 in a car on a campus parking lot. There was little dispute Thursday over facts as prosecutors and Colotl's defense both agreed she was in the driver's seat and didn't present a valid license at the time.
After briefly detaining her, Cobb authorities turned her over to federal immigration officials once they learned she was in the country illegally. She was 11 when her parents had crossed the border with her from Mexico.
Colotl spent 37 days in immigration detention but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials subsequently agreed to delay action on Colotl's case for a year while she completes her studies.
Colotl told reporters before testimony began that she plans to graduate in the spring and wants to stay in the United States. "I've grown up in this country, and I've adopted all the American values," she said, calling herself "an American without papers."
Colotl's case called attention to the issue of illegal immigrants attending state universities and colleges in Georgia and the nation. The state Board of Regents has since appointed a special committee to examine the issue and voted last month to adopt stricter rules governing illegal immigrant students.
Judge Kathryn Tanksley set sentencing for Monday.
Driving without a license carries a minimum sentence of 48 hours in jail, but Colotl is expected to receive credit for 45 hours she already served. Colotl's lawyers, upon filing an appeal, said they would take steps that could delay sentencing if the judge consents.
A county solicitor, Rachel Bearman, said she was pleased with the verdict.
Colotl is among hundreds of thousands of young people who have been brought into the U.S. illegally by their parents After her border crossing at 11, she eventually graduated from high school in Georgia and entered Kennesaw State University in 2006, joining a sorority.
Following her arrest, she received backing from civil liberties and immigration rights groups and told reporters she hoped her ordeal would help persuade leaders to work for an overhaul of the country's immigration laws.
