The Washington Post reports that immigration officials have confirmed David DePape is in the United States illegally. Paul Pelosi’s attacker is a Canadian citizen. The question is whether or not he will be deported after his criminal cases are resolved. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it is possible he will face deportation.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged an immigration detainer on Canadian national David DePape with San Francisco County Jail, Nov. 1, following his Oct. 28 arrest,” DHS officials said in an email.

In a nutshell, ICE sends detainers to state and local law enforcement asking them to notify the agency before releasing a foreign citizen who could be deported. Since deportations are civil proceedings, they often take place after criminal cases are resolved. Illegal aliens have also been detained after they post bail.

DePape pleaded not guilty and remains in custody. He faces state and federal criminal charges for his brutal attack on Paul Pelosi.

Federal authorities on Monday filed attempted kidnapping and assault charges against DePape, alleging he broke into the Pelosi home, bludgeoned her husband with a hammer in front of police, and then said he wanted to break Nancy Pelosi’s kneecaps as a warning to other Democrats.

DePape also was arraigned Tuesday in San Francisco County Superior Court on state charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary, false imprisonment and threatening the life of or serious bodily harm to a public official..

California is a sanctuary state. Millions of illegal aliens live in the state. California has passed laws that limit state and local law enforcement’s cooperation with immigration officials, like ICE. This makes it very difficult for immigration officials to deport illegal aliens who are arrested for crimes. The state makes exceptions for people with serious criminal histories. It is not clear what will happen with DePape but state prosecutors say he poses an extreme safety risk.

DePape, 42, grew up in British Columbia but it is unclear how he came to live in Northern California. His federal record shows he entered the U.S. legally on March 8, 2008 from Mexico. He crossed at the San Ysidro port of entry. That port of entry is an official border crossing and links San Diego County with Tijuana. Canadians traveling for business or pleasure do not require visas. DePape was admitted as a “temporary visitor” who was traveling for pleasure. That designation allowed him to stay for up to six months. DHS isn’t saying when his temporary visitor status expired but if it is good for six months, it’s pretty easy to do the math since they know when he entered the country. This is 2022 and his 2008 designation is long past expired.

The Canadian government is working on the case.

“Canadian officials are engaging with local authorities to obtain more information,” said Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman Charlotte MacLeod. “Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”

The WaPo article goes on to paint DePape as some kind of right-wing nutjob from blog posts he made in recent months. There is no real evidence of his political philosophy, though from his lifestyle and from interviews with neighbors and acquaintances, he would track to be on the left, not the right. It’s been reported he’s a nudist who takes drugs and lives in an abandoned bus in Berkeley. His political leanings aren’t the story, though that is what the media always focuses on when they think the person is conservative.

The attack by DePape is being used to ratchet up fear over threats that have come in because the midterm election is just days away.

The attack added to the growing concerns nationwide about the threats posed by domestic violent extremists as the Nov. 8 midterm elections approach.

The FBI, DHS and other agencies issued a memo last week warning that extremism could increase in the 90-day post-election period, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post.

The memo said the most plausible threat “is posed by lone offenders who leverage election-related issues to justify violence.”

Threats of politically-motivated violence are being used to justify Joe Biden’s ill-advised red speech part two on Wednesday night. We all know that Biden would have been open to doing that speech whether or not threats are up. He waited to do so because his intention was to use it as a political campaign speech for Democrats. Sleepy Joe thought it was a good idea to wait until six days before the midterm elections and make a speech that would further divide the country. His speech was an insult to fully half of the country. So much for all the unity and healing, eh?