ICE Officer Christian Castro Charged Federally for Lying About Minnesota Shooting

An ICE officer faces federal charges for making false statements about shooting a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis. The case is a rare DOJ move to hold immigration officers accountable.

Federal Charges Filed Against ICE Officer Who Lied About Minneapolis Shooting

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been charged by federal prosecutors with making false statements to investigators following the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in Minnesota earlier this year, NPR National has confirmed.

The criminal case remains under seal but was verified by a source not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

Christian Castro, the ICE officer at the center of the case, was deployed in north Minneapolis in January as part of Operation Metro Surge, a broad immigration enforcement campaign across the state. Authorities say Castro fired his weapon through a closed door, striking Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant, in the leg.

Castro initially swore under oath that Sosa-Celis had attacked him. Surveillance footage later contradicted that account. The Justice Department had originally charged Sosa-Celis with assault, but dropped those charges after acknowledging that officers involved had made untruthful statements about the incident.

Castro also faces separate state-level assault charges in Minnesota.

Robin Wolpert, the attorney representing Sosa-Celis, criticized the scope of the new federal charges. "Although the evidence strongly supports civil rights charges, the federal government has grossly undercharged this case," Wolpert said in a statement provided to Minnesota Public Radio. She added that Castro "lied to cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification."

"Mr. Sosa Celis wants Mr. Castro to be held fully accountable for his crimes," Wolpert said.

The Hennepin County attorney in Minnesota had sought Castro's extradition from Texas. A federal judge in Texas ruled against Minnesota's request last week, declining to keep Castro in custody pending extradition. Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, said Thursday that "state law enforcement stands ready and willing to assist federal partners in facilitating Mr. Castro's arrest if needed."

The federal charges mark a rare instance of the Justice Department moving to hold immigration enforcement officers accountable for conduct during arrests. Immigration enforcement agents have faced bipartisan criticism over the course of the Trump administration's crackdown, which has involved the killings of two U.S. citizens and a series of other violent incidents.

Federal immigration officers have shot at more than 20 people since the crackdown began. Most recently, ICE drew scrutiny in July following the fatal shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. In both cases, neither the arrest targets nor the officers involved were wearing body cameras, according to the agency.

Source: NPR National