A federal judge has rejected Minnesota’s emergency request to compel Texas authorities to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer facing criminal charges stemming from a shooting during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
Christian Castro remains held in Brownsville, Texas, near the Mexican border, where he has been in custody since being charged in Minnesota with assault and filing a false police report. The charges relate to a January 14 incident in which he allegedly fired through the front door of a Minneapolis home, striking 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg.
Prosecutors in Minnesota also allege Castro fabricated a story claiming Sosa-Celis and another individual had attacked an ICE officer using a broom handle and a snow shovel. Castro has denied wrongdoing.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed for a temporary restraining order last week, asking a federal judge to block Cameron County sheriff’s officials from releasing Castro and to force Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign off on the extradition warrant. The judge declined that request Wednesday.
Under Texas law, a person held pending extradition must be released after 90 days if no extradition order has been executed. That deadline falls on Thursday, raising concerns that Castro could walk free before Minnesota can bring him to trial.
Minnesota officials expressed serious concern that Castro may attempt to flee to Mexico if released. Court documents reference phone calls Castro made from jail to a woman living in Mexico in which he allegedly discussed marriage and purchasing property there.
Abbott announced last week that he had no intention of honoring the extradition request. The governor pointed to an ongoing federal investigation into alleged fraud involving government social service programs in Minnesota, which the Trump administration cited as justification for launching its immigration enforcement campaign in the state.
At a federal hearing in Brownsville on Tuesday, attorneys from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office argued that once Castro is freed, the chances of successfully prosecuting him in their state would become extremely slim given the flight risk he poses.
The case has drawn national attention as it sits at the intersection of federal immigration enforcement and state criminal accountability. Minnesota officials now face a rapidly closing window to secure Castro’s transfer before the Texas detention deadline expires.
