Ever Valles, 19, a Mexican citizen, is accused of murdering a man in Denver seven weeks after being freed on bond for theft

An illegal immigrant who was freed from county jail in Denver despite ICE's requests that he stay behind bars to face deportation is accused of murdering a man within weeks of being released.

Ever Valles, 19, is accused of murdering Timothy Cruz, 32, on February 7 after robbing him at a light railway station in the early hours of the morning.

The teenager had been freed by the Denver Sheriff's Department in late December after posting $5,000 bond for theft charges.

They let him go despite requests from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to keep the gangster behind bars so that they could deport him.

They flagged him as an 'immigration priority' given his ties to gang activity in the city and asked to be told by the jail when it planned to release him so that they could be there waiting to take him into federal custody.

On December 20 however, a fax notifying ICE that Valles was due to be released was only sent 30 minutes before he was back on the streets.

No one at ICE saw it in time to get to the county jail to collect him, The Denver Post reports.

Valles now faces first degree robbery and murder charges along with Nathan Valdez, a 19-year-old US citizen who is also accused of killing Cruz.

He was arrested on February 8 after an anonymous tip led police to him.

On the day of the killing, officers shared surveillance footage of two masked suspects they believed shot Cruz.

Police arrested him in Denver a day after issuing this surveillance footage from the light railway where he is accused of killing Timothy Cruz with the help of Nathan Valdez

Valles (left) was described as an 'immigration enforcement priority' by ICE agents who wanted to be notified by the Denver Sheriff's Department before he was released in December. Tim Cruz (right) was found dead in the early hours of February 7

Denver Sheriff's Department is standing by its decision to allow him to go free in December despite Cruz's death.

'Denver has never and will never condone dangerous or violent individuals being on our streets, immigrants or not, however, detaining anyone without a criminal warrant is a violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,' a statement read.

ICE however says it did not live up to its end up of their deal by not giving enough time between notifying them of Valles's planned release and allowing him back on to the streets.

'The detainer wasn´t honored and he was released by the jail ... without prior notification.

'Valles is a known gang member whose gang history is documented in the Colorado gang database.'

Denver Police did notify ICE agents that they planned to release Valles as promised but only gave them 30 minutes after sending a fax about it before Valles was put back on the streets

Denver is considered a 'sanctuary city', a term used by Donald Trump for cities which refuse to detain illegal immigrants for deportation.

Nathan Valdez, 19, is also accused of robbing and murdering Cruz on February 7

Its Mayor Michael Hancock embraced the title earlier this month despite threats from the president to cut federal funding to cities and states that don't comply with his plans for immigration and deportation.

'If being a sanctuary city means that we value taking care of one another, and welcoming refugees and immigrants, then I welcome the title.

'If being a sanctuary city means families and young ‘Dreamers’ live with hope and not fear, then Washington can label us whatever they want.'

'Dreamers' refers to a group of immigrants who came to the US undocumented as children but who President Obama allowed a chance to work legally as adults.

President Trump promised to undo the executive action during his campaign.