Federal immigration officials have acknowledged that a convicted murderer in illegal immigration custody entered the country by mistake, citing the border crisis as the reason.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents rearrested Colombian national Efrain Vidales Vargas in Massachusetts earlier this month, the agency confirmed. Vargas was convicted of murder in her home country in September 2016, but she entered the United States illegally through the southern border in 2023 and was released from ICE custody.
“Efrain Vidales Vargas, an undocumented Colombian citizen who entered the United States illegally in November 2023 and is wanted by Colombian authorities for murder, has been mistakenly released from ICE custody,” a spokesperson said Tuesday. , told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “After additional internal investigation, ERO Boston Deportation Officers rearrested Vargas on May 6, 2024 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.” (Related: Northern border region hit by ‘record-breaking’ wave of illegal immigrant arrests in one month)
The agency’s statement also appeared to cite the current border crisis as the reason for the error, noting that the number of deportation officers pales in comparison to the number of illegal immigrants entering the United States.
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“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation operations employ approximately 4,000 deportation officers who maintain a national noncustodial record of more than 7 million noncitizens, a number that is growing daily. ” said the spokesperson.
ICE announced in a press release Monday that the Colombian national was arrested and charged in his home country on April 5, 2014, with aggravated murder, aggravated theft, and weapons possession. He was convicted on September 29, 2016 and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
For reasons that remain unclear, Vargas left local custody in Colombia and was arrested by Border Patrol agents near San Luis, Arizona, on November 27, 2023. Vargas was issued a notice to appear before an immigration judge and was released on a recognizance order. according to agency.
Vargas is currently in the department’s custody and is expected to be deported to Colombia to face criminal charges, a spokesperson confirmed to DCNF on Tuesday.
ICE recently admonished local law enforcement agencies in Massachusetts for ignoring ICE detainers and allowing their release into society of previously detained illegal immigrants. The state is designated a “sanctuary” state because of local laws that make it more difficult for deportation officials to apprehend illegal immigrants.
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