Judge blocks Minnesota attempt to extradite ICE agent from Texas
Fox News correspondent Christina Coleman reported from Dallas as a federal judge halted Minnesota’s effort to extradite ICE officer Christian Castro from Texas. Castro is facing allegations tied to the January shooting of Venezuelan migrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis, while Texas Gov. Greg Abbott reviews whether Castro meets the legal definition of a fugitive.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been charged by federal prosecutors with allegedly misleading investigators about the circumstances of a shooting involving a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis earlier this year, News Outlet has learned.
According to a source familiar with the case, the Department of Justice has charged ICE agent Christian Castro with making false statements connected to the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. A federal grand jury in Minnesota indicted Castro on Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege Castro fired through the front door of a Minneapolis residence, striking Sosa-Celis, and later gave investigators a false account of what happened before the shooting. The case unfolded against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota.
Left: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Christian Castro enters a vehicle as reporters gather around him shortly after his release from the Carrizalez-Rucker Cameron County Detention Center in Brownsville, Texas, on Aug. 27. Federal prosecutors have charged Castro with lying about the Jan. 14 shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis. (Left: AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez; Right: Cameron County Sheriff’s Office)
The shooting was followed by at least one night of unrest in Minneapolis.
The federal charges surfaced after Castro was released from custody in Texas last week, following Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision not to sign an extradition warrant that would have transferred him to Minnesota authorities.
Texas law requires a detainee to be released after 90 days if extradition does not proceed. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison previously sought a temporary restraining order to prevent Castro’s release or compel his return to Minnesota, but the request was unsuccessful, according to The Associated Press.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (left) and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (right) battled on X over whther or not an ICE agent involved in a recent shooting in Minneapolis should be extradited back to Minnesota. (Getty Images)
Castro is charged separately in that state with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the same shooting.
Federal authorities initially accused Sosa-Celis and another man of beating an officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel during a confrontation.
However, the charges were dropped after video evidence showed the officers may have lied about the encounter, prompting an investigation.
On Wednesday, ProPublica reported that federal prosecutors were barred by officials in Washington from pursuing civil rights charges against Castro.
News Outlet has reached out to ICE, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department for comment.
