US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan confirmed on Thursday the man arrested in connection to setting fires in California is a five time deported illegal alien.

Jesus Fabian Gonzalez was arrested several times but ICE was never notified because he was arrested in a sanctuary county.

The deadly fires in northern California have caused over $1 billion in damages. 42 people have died in the fires.

Breitbart.com reported:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tom Homan confirmed on Thursday that a man arrested in connection with setting a fire in Sonoma County Wine Country is an illegal alien from Mexico who has been twice returned to his “home country.” TRENDING: FBI Agent Who Uncovered Weiner Laptop with Hillary's Emails says FBI Leadership Told Him to Erase All of His Findings Homan also confirmed that ICE has issued detainer requests for Jesus Fabian Gonzalez five times now in the past year alone, including the one issued on October 16 in relation to his most recent arrest on suspicion of arson. All of the arrests were made “by Sonoma County on various felony and misdemeanor charges,” according to Homan. Sonoma County is considered a sanctuary jurisdiction and does not fully cooperate with federal immigration officials. That includes not honoring ICE detainer requests. “ICE was never notified of Mr. Gonzalez’ various releases,” Homan wrote in the statement regarding Gonzalez. There were several fires in the region, and it is not clear what role the fires Gonzales allegedly set played in the overall disaster.

Several officials suspected this week that Mexican cartels may have been behind the California fires after several pot farms were burned to the ground.