A man with a previous murder conviction was "erroneously" released into the U.S. after he crossed the border illegally, ICE has reportedly stated.The case relates to Efrain Vidales Vargas, a 49-year-old Colombian national who was convicted of aggravated homicide, aggravated theft, and possession of a weapon in connection with an incident that occurred in 2014. In September 2016, a Colombian court sentenced Vargas to 17 years in prison.'I cannot fathom for a million years why ICE would release somebody that had a warrant, or was a suspect, or anything in a heinous crime like a murder.'It seems that Vargas may have managed to escape from his detention facility in Colombia because last November, he reportedly crossed the U.S. border near Yuma, Arizona. He was then picked up by Border Patrol, who handed him over to ICE for further processing.According to Ali Bradley, a journalist who covers issues related to the southern border for NewsNation, ICE agents knew about Vargas' violent past while he was in custody. On December 11, an agent noted that Vargas had been convicted of murder and that he had committed other crimes as a juvenile, Bradley reported, citing sources. Nevertheless, Vargas was released into the U.S. two days later with a notice to appear because of a "national bed space shortage caused by southwest border surge," Bradley reported.On May 6, deportation officers with ERO Boston arrested Vargas near his residence in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A tip from a Colombian Interpol official reportedly led to the arrest. Vargas, "an unlawfully present Colombian national who is wanted by Colombian authorities for a Homicide conviction," will hopefully soon be deported back to his home country, where he will "face criminal prosecution," ICE said in a statement shared by Bradley. ICE also acknowledged in the statement that Vargas was "erroneously" released into the U.S. last year. The statement hinted that overworked agents simply cannot handle such an insurgence of illegal immigrants."U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations employs a staff of around 4,000 deportation officers who manage a national non-detained docket of more than 7 million noncitizens – a number that increases every day," it said. — (@) Chris Clem, a retired Border Patrol chief for the Yuma sector, indicated to NewsNation that the bungling of Vargas' case is a "great[] betrayal to the American people." "I cannot fathom for a million years why ICE would release somebody that had a warrant, or was a suspect, or anything in a heinous crime like a murder," he added.A statement from ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons, however, claimed that his agency is committed to "public safety." "ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by aggressively apprehending and removing the most egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods," the statement said.Without mentioning Vargas by name, Lyons added that the illegal alien would soon be back behind bars in Colombia, where he belongs. "This Colombian national is wanted in his home country for some very serious crimes," Lyons said. "He attempted to hide out in Massachusetts, and now he will have to answer for his actions."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Why do Catholics pray to Mary and the saints? What do Catholics believe about salvation? And is it anti-Semitic to say Jews killed Jesus? Trent Horn from Catholic Answers recently joined "Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey" to answer these and more questions in an episode about the longstanding disagreement between Protestant and Catholic beliefs. Catholics have many practices that Protestants find unbiblical: mainly, praying to Mary and the saints and the place of honor Mary has in the Catholic Church. Protestants maintain that praying to saints has no biblical basis, and since Jesus himself intercedes for Christians on earth, we have no need for the intercession of Mary or the saints, citing verses like 1 Timothy 2:5 and Hebrews 2:5 as evidence: "There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5) "He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." (Hebrews 7:25) Protestants also believe that since the saints have died, they have no way of hearing our prayers, and trying to pray to them could be condemned as attempting to speak with the dead, as seen in Leviticus: "A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:27) On the Catholic side, Catholics believe that saints are able to intercede on behalf of Christians on earth, since though physically dead, they are spiritually alive and more alive in Christ than Christians are on earth. Since they are spiritually alive, it is not necromancy — it is asking for the prayers of the members of the body of Christ in heaven. They believe the ability of the saints to hear prayers from Christians on earth is through the omnipotence of God. To support this, Catholics point to mentions of the prayers of the saints in Revelation: "The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Rev. 5:8) "The smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God." (Rev. 8:4) Catholics also do not believe that Christ being the one mediator means Christians cannot ask for the intercessory prayers of Mary, the saints, and other Christians on earth. While Christ is the one mediator between God and man, and no one else can fill that role, Catholics believe that all Christians are called to be mediators between Christ and the world. On "Relatable," Trent Horn cited the earliest-known liturgical prayer not found in Scripture — the “Sub Tuum Praesidium” (meaning “Beneath Thy Protection”) — as evidence of the early church praying to and honoring Mary. This prayer was found on Greek papyrus around 300 A.D. and asks for the protection and intercession of Mary: “We turn to you for protection, Holy Mother of God. Listen to our prayers and help us in our needs. Save us from every danger, glorious and blessed Virgin.” Many Protestants do not believe that Mary has a place of honor, while Catholics maintain that Mary is the mother of God, the queen of heaven and earth, and deserving of a special type of reverence and love. Allie referenced Mark 3:31-35 as an example of her beliefs that Mary does not have a special place of honor: “And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, 'Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.' And he answered them, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.'” Trent then explained his view of these verses, “I think we can misread that, because ... one could take that so far as to say, 'Oh, you know, your mother doesn't really matter. You don't have to worry about your mother, what matters more are other believers.'" He continued, "But the Bible's also very clear you have special obligations to your parents ... what's going on here is Jesus is saying that to have a special relationship with him it is not necessary to be his biological kin.” The conversation also veered into intercessory prayer, the definition of prayer itself, Sola Scriptura, and salvation theology. This episode is jam-packed with theology and definitely not an episode you want to miss — whether Protestant, Catholic, or any other faith. Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

After analyzing over 9,000 recordings of sperm whale noises, researchers from Project CETI believe that they've discovered the "building blocks of whale language." The post Researchers Studying Sperm Whale Communication Discover That The Animals Have A Complex ‘Phonetic Alphabet’ appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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