David DePape, the man accused of breaking into House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and assaulting her husband, Paul Pelosi, is an illegal immigrant from Canada, and he may face deportation following his criminal trial.
Depape, 42, first entered the U.S. legally through Mexico in 2008. Canadian citizens are permitted to enter the U.S. for pleasure without a visa, but their stays are limited to roughly six months. DePape has remained in the U.S. for roughly 14 years.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is aware of DePape’s immigration status and has issued a detainer on him. Detainers notify local law enforcement that a particular person in their custody may be subject to 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 told Axios on Thursday.
DePape is pleading not guilty to charges of attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder and threats to a public official and her family.
He allegedly broke into the multi-million dollar Pelosi home in California last week. Police say he brought zip-ties into the home and attempted to restrain Paul Pelosi, asking, “Where is Nancy?”
Investigators say DePape threatened to break Pelosi’s “kneecaps” had she been home.
Paul told Police he was able to move to the bathroom in order to make a call to authorities at roughly 2:00 a.m. Friday.
Officers arrived to find the two men struggling over a hammer. Officers ordered the men to halt, at which point DePape struck Paul on the head at least once, fracturing his skull.