Officials now say the alleged MS-13 gang member charged in a deadly subway shooting in Queens was in the country illegally.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Ramiro Gutierrez is a citizen of El Salvador.

In his State of the Union Address Tuesday, President Donald Trump cited the killing as part of his campaign for a border wall to stop illegal immigration.

"The savage gang, MS-13, now operates in at least 20 different American states, and they almost all come through our southern border," Trump said Tuesday. "Just yesterday, an MS-13 gang member was taken into custody for a fatal shooting on a subway platform in New York City."

At the time of the subway shooting, Gutierrez was out on $2,500 bail, after being indicted last year for conspiracy to commit burglary. 

Because New York is a so-called "sanctuary city," the NYPD does not honor what are known as detainers, requests by ICE to hold undocumented immigrants who have been charged or convicted of crimes so that immigration agents can pick them up.   

There are exceptions: The NYPD must turn over a person convicted of one of more than 150 serious  offenses.

However, ICE tells NY1 it never even made a detainer request for Gutierrez because it was unaware of his immigration status and was not looking for him.

Gutierrez was charged in the shooting of a suspected rival gang member on the "7" train platform at the 90th Street-Elmhurst Avenue station on Sunday.

He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.