The undocumented Mexican man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as he was taking his pregnant wife to the hospital is wanted for murder in Mexico, federal immigration officials said, but the man's lawyers, his family, and Mexican officials remained in the dark about key details of the alleged crime.

Joel Arrona Lara, 35, was detained by ICE officers last week at a gas station in San Bernardino, California, while driving his wife to a hospital, where she was scheduled to give birth by cesarean section.



On Saturday, an ICE spokesperson defended the detention, and said that Arrona Lara had been "brought to ICE’s attention due to an outstanding warrant issued for his arrest in Mexico on homicide charges."



Officials said late Monday that they had received a request from Mexican prosecutors on July 24 for help in arresting Arrona Lara.

But in an interview with the Associated Press, Arrona Lara's lawyer said that as of Monday, he still had not seen any documentation related to a murder charge. Several Mexican officials told BuzzFeed News Monday they had no information about a murder charge or arrest warrant, but they were continuing to investigate. One added that they had not communicated with ICE on the matter.

ICE did not provide details about the crime Arrona Lara had allegedly committed. On Monday, the AP reported that an unnamed official in the Mexican state of Guanajuato confirmed Arrona Lara had been wanted in connection with a murder, but said he did not know the details of the case.