ICE Officer Released in Texas After Judge Rejects Extradition to Minnesota
An ICE officer charged with shooting a man in Minneapolis was freed from a Texas jail Thursday after a federal judge declined to order his return to Minnesota.
ICE Officer Walks Free in Brownsville After Texas Judge Blocks Minnesota's Extradition Push
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man during a January immigration operation in Minneapolis was released from a Brownsville, Texas, detention center early Thursday morning, ABC News US reports. A federal judge had declined the day before to compel Texas authorities to return him to Minnesota.
Christian Castro walked out of the detention facility at dawn, gestured toward camera crews and a reporter gathered outside, and quickly boarded an SUV that drove away.
Castro faces charges in Minnesota of assault and falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Prosecutors allege Castro fired a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg. They also accuse Castro of fabricating a story in which Sosa-Celis and another man allegedly attacked an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.
Judge Finds No Grounds to Intervene
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote in a Wednesday order that he lacked the authority to prevent the Cameron County sheriff from releasing Castro or to instruct Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign the extradition warrant.
"The Court concludes that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the case is not ripe for adjudication," the order stated. "Minnesota cannot premise its causes of action on the allegation that Governor Abbott may violate those authorities in the future; it must prove that a violation has already occurred."
The judge acknowledged that Castro could potentially flee to Mexico — Minnesota officials cited calls Castro made from jail to a woman there, in which he reportedly spoke about marrying her and buying a house in Mexico upon release — but ruled that "the threat of injury by itself does not create an issue ripe for adjudication."
Under Texas law, Castro had to be released after 90 days in detention without extradition, a threshold reached Thursday.
Extradition Process Stalled
A Minnesota judge issued a nationwide arrest warrant for Castro in May. Authorities, including Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, arrested him in Cameron County on May 29. Minnesota has sought his extradition since that date, but Castro remained held in Brownsville — a city bordering Mexico — throughout the 90-day period.
Abbott has not formally denied the extradition request. His attorneys told the court Tuesday that the governor is awaiting the outcome of a state investigation into whether Castro legally qualifies as a "fugitive" under the Extradition Clause. The judge noted that extradition statutes do not specify how long a Texas governor may take to reach that determination.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed for a temporary restraining order last week, seeking either to block Castro's release or secure his transfer to Minnesota. That effort failed.
Ellison and Abbott Trade Accusations Online
Following the ruling, Ellison posted online that Abbott was legally obligated to extradite Castro, and that by refusing to act, "Greg Abbott is turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals."
Abbott responded sharply on the same platform: "You guys are such bad lawyers. You showed up unprepared, uninformed & unpersuasive. You don't know the law & it showed."
The Texas governor accused Minnesota of failing to enforce federal immigration laws and threatened to send migrants to the state in the future, referencing a similar move previously made with New York City during the Biden administration. Abbott also pointed to an ongoing state investigation into alleged fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota — an inquiry President Donald Trump cited as justification for the immigration crackdown there.
A message seeking comment from Ellison's office had not received a response as of Thursday.
Reporting by Valerie Gonzalez from McAllen, Texas. AP writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed.
Source: ABC News US