A federal ICE officer facing criminal charges in Minnesota for an alleged shooting during an immigration enforcement operation was released from a South Texas jail Thursday morning after a judge declined to force his return to Minnesota.
Christian Castro walked out of a Brownsville detention facility at dawn, briefly acknowledged cameras and reporters gathered outside, then departed in an SUV. His release came after 90 days in custody, the maximum allowed under Texas law without extradition.
Castro faces charges in Minnesota including assault and filing a false police report in connection with a January 14 shooting involving 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Prosecutors allege Castro fired a weapon through the front door of a Minneapolis home, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg, then falsely claimed the victim and another man had attacked an ICE officer with a broom handle and snow shovel.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled Wednesday that the court lacked jurisdiction to intervene because Texas Governor Greg Abbott had not yet formally denied the extradition request. Abbott said he was waiting on an internal state investigation to determine whether Castro legally qualified as a fugitive under the Extradition Clause.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had filed for a temporary restraining order last week to either block Castro’s release or compel his transfer to Minnesota. The judge acknowledged Castro posed a potential flight risk but said that threat alone was insufficient grounds to act.
Minnesota officials cited phone calls Castro allegedly made from jail to a woman in Mexico in which he reportedly discussed marriage and purchasing a home there. Officials fear he may flee the country now that he is free.
Abbott publicly dismissed the legal efforts by Minnesota officials after the ruling. He accused the Minnesota attorney general’s team of arriving unprepared and uninformed and stated they failed to demonstrate knowledge of the applicable law. Abbott also accused Minnesota of refusing to enforce federal immigration law and threatened to send migrants to the state as he claimed was done with New York City during the Biden administration.
Ellison fired back on social media arguing Abbott had a legal obligation to extradite Castro and accused the Texas governor of shielding a violent criminal by refusing to act. Abbott had previously cited an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud in Minnesota government social service programs as part of his justification for withholding a response to the extradition request.
Castro’s current whereabouts following his release from the Brownsville facility are unknown.
