U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez reportedly employed an illegal immigrant who was also a registered sex offender in his Senate office as an unpaid intern, according to a published report.

The Associated Press is reporting that the Homeland Security Department instructed federal agents not to arrest him until after Election Day, according to the report.

Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta, an 18-year-old immigrant from Peru, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Dec. 6. The intern was reportedly living in New Jersey on a now-expired visitor visa from Peru. He is in federal custody and faces deportation.

According to the report, the intern was criminally charged in 2010 and was subsequently required to register as a sex offender. The charge against him was not reported since Sanchez was prosecuted as a juvenile.

Menendez, a Democrat, was recently re-elected to the Senate following a race against Republican state Sen. Joe Kyrillos.