Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken into custody an Ecuadorian national accused of killing a Minnesota mother in an alleged drunk driving crash, after the individual had twice been released by local authorities despite federal detainer requests.

German Adriano Llangari Inga, who is in the U.S. illegally, is facing vehicular homicide charges in connection to an August 2023 crash that killed Victoria Eileen Harwell and seriously injured her teenage daughter and sister. Authorities say he had a blood alcohol level “twice the legal limit” at the time of the crash, reports Fox.

“Despite a lack of cooperation from local Minnesota authorities, ICE arrested criminal illegal alien German Llangari Inga. This criminal illegal alien has been evading prosecution for vehicular homicide that resulted in the death of Minnesota mom, Victoria Eileen Harwell,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement Tuesday.

ICE first issued a detainer in August following the crash, but the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office only held Llangari Inga in custody for two days before releasing him. A second detainer was lodged on May 10, when he was arrested again on an outstanding warrant. However, he was released on May 13 without ICE being notified.

The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office has stated that it cannot honor ICE detainers without a judicial warrant, citing guidance from the Minnesota Attorney General. “If a judicially-signed warrant is presented to HCSO, ICE will be notified when it becomes the holding agency. In the absence of such a warrant, individuals must be released once all criminal charges or holds have been resolved. HCSO is committed to working with federal and local partners and honoring the constitutional rights of all individuals,” the agency said in a prior statement.

Federal immigration officers later located and detained Llangari Inga, who is now in ICE custody. McLaughlin criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and local officials for failing to cooperate with ICE.

“Despite Hennepin County refusing to honor this criminal illegal alien’s detainer TWICE, ICE officers tracked him down and removed this criminal from Minnesota’s streets. Tim Walz should be thanking ICE not using despicable rhetoric. Remember sanctuary politicians are fighting for criminal illegal aliens. President Trump and Secretary Noem are fighting for the victims of illegal alien crime, like Eileen Harwell,” McLaughlin said.

The White House also weighed in on the case. “An illegal immigrant drove drunk, killed an innocent mother, and is now on the run because Democrats didn’t do their most important job: protect their constituents,” said White House Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer in a statement to Fox News Digital.

The case has renewed scrutiny over sanctuary policies in Minnesota and the handling of ICE detainer requests.