An illegal Guatemalan immigrant who had been twice deported was arrested for the murders of a mother and her two kids in Iowa, authorities said Friday.

Marvin Oswaldo Esquivel-Lopez, 31, faces charges of first-degree murder in the triple homicide Tuesday night in downtown Des Moines, the Des Moines Register reported.

Esquivel-Lopez allegedly fatally shot 29-year-old Rossibeth Flores-Rodriguez and her two children, 11-year-old Grecia Daniela Alvarado-Flores and 5-year-old Ever Jose Mejia-Flores.

The trio had been living with Esquivel-Lopez in the home where officers discovered their bodies Tuesday night, authorities said. The suspect was the one to call 911 around 11 p.m. to report the killings.

Esquivel-Lopez told authorities that Flores-Rodriguez killed the kids and he shot her in self-defense. But a witness told police he shot her during an argument then went inside and shot the children, the news outlet reported.

Investigators don’t believe that Esquivel-Lopez and Flores-Rodriguez had a personal relationship other than him living in her condo — and it’s unclear what the motive was behind the slayings. “We may never know what the motive was,” Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said. “All we know is there was some sort of dispute between this man and the victim and he ended up, allegedly, shooting three people because of it.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the suspect was deported from the US in 2010 and again in 2011.

“He has a prior federal conviction for illegal entry into the United States in 2010,” a spokesperson told the Des Moines Register. “He is not currently in ICE custody.”

The 2011 deportation was the result of his illegal entry to the country near Laredo, Texas, court records said. He was sentenced to 15 days confinement and ordered to not return to the US.

Esquivel-Lopez is being held at Polk County Jail on $3 million bond — but ICE has filed an immigration detainer and arrest warrant with the detention center.

An illegal immigrant who returns to the country after deportation can be charged with a felony that carries a sentence of up to

20 years in prison.

With Post wires