U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to Fox News that the Ecuadorean illegal immigrant charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in New York City was caught by Border Patrol in Eagle Pass, Texas, in June 2021, and subsequently released into the U.S. with a future court date.

The agency also confirmed in a statement to Fox News’ Bill Melugin that in February 2022, an immigration judge ordered Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, 25, to be deported, but the deportation was never executed.

Inga-Landi is part of ICE’s nondetained docket, which Fox News reported this week has ballooned to 7.4 million cases, with each ICE officer currently managing an average of 7,000 cases.

On June 18, the New York City Police Department arrested Inga-Landi as a suspect in the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Queens. He is also facing several other charges.

NEW: In statement to @FoxNews, ICE confirms that the Ecuadorean illegal alien charged with raping a 13-year-old girl in NYC was caught by Border Patrol in Eagle Pass, TX in June 2021, then released into the U.S. w/ a future court date. A judge ordered him to be deported in… pic.twitter.com/eDMgiuESck

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 20, 2024

Surveillance footage from the area led police to identify Inga-Landi as the primary suspect after numerous tips about his whereabouts were received.

He was eventually apprehended after a group of neighbors recognized him from a wanted poster. Approximately 10 people detained him until police arrived to arrest him in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

On that same day, Enforcement and Removal Operations New York City issued an immigration detainer against his release.

The illegal immigrant had several prior low-level offenses, including subway fare evasion and public drinking. Police also noted his involvement in a domestic violence incident where no charges were filed, as well as an unspecified arrest in Texas.