The man who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at his San Francisco home last week is illegally in the United States, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) filed an immigration case against Canadian citizen David DePape at the San Francisco County Jail on November 1, following his October 28 arrest,” the official said. DHS spokesperson in a statement to NBC Bay Area.

DePape is being held in jail for attempted murder and several other crimes after he allegedly broke into Pelosi’s Pacific Heights home and brutally assaulted Paul Pelosi with a hammer.

DePape’s last known residence was in Richmond.

The DHS official said records show DePape entered the United States on March 8, 2008 at the San Ysidro port of entry as a temporary visitor, classified as B2 under the Immigration and Nationality Act .

He added that eligible Canadian travelers posing as business or leisure travelers generally do not need a visa and are generally admitted for 6 months in the country.

ICE places immigration detainees on people who have been arrested on criminal charges and who ICE has probable cause to believe can be removed under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), explained a spokesperson. The detainee asks the other law enforcement agency to notify ICE before a person is released so that ICE can take that person into custody in a safe and secure environment.