Judge denies Minnesota bid to extradite ICE officer from Texas, paving way for his release

Judge denies Minnesota bid to extradite ICE officer from Texas, paving way for his release

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A federal judge on Wednesday refused to order Texas to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Judge denies Minnesota bid to extradite ICE officer from Texas, paving way for his release

Christian Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Minnesota authorities have sought his extradition since his arrest, but he remains in custody in Brownsville, Texas, a city bordering Mexico.

Under Texas law and barring extradition, Castro must be released after 90 days of detention, which is Thursday.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a request for a temporary restraining order last week, asking a federal judge to prevent the sheriff in Cameron County, Texas, from releasing Castro, and to order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to sign his extradition warrant.

Minnesota officials believe Castro could flee the country, citing calls he made from jail to a woman in Mexico, talking “about marrying her and buying a house in Mexico when he is released,” according to the lawsuit.

Castro is accused of firing a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg with a bullet that lodged in a child’s bedroom wall. Prosecutors say Castro then falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.

Abbott has said he would not respond to the extradition request, citing an ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. ’s earlier story follows below.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting and wounding a man during the crackdown in Minneapolis then lying about it, could walk free from a Texas jail if a federal judge does not intervene Wednesday.

Christian Castro is charged in Minnesota with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Minnesota authorities have sought Castro’s extradition since his arrest, but he remains in custody in Brownsville, Texas, a city bordering Mexico.

Under Texas law, Castro must be released after 90 days of detention, which is Thursday.

Minnesota's lawsuit asks U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. to order Castro's extradition and prevent the Cameron County sheriff from releasing him. The judge said Tuesday he was not inclined to stop the sheriff from releasing Castro, but that he would respond to the temporary restraining order on Wednesday.

Texas filed a motion late Tuesday asking for Minnesota's case to be dismissed.

Castro is accused of firing a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, shooting Sosa-Celis in the leg. Prosecutors say Castro also falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.

At a federal hearing in Brownsville on Tuesday, attorneys with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office argued it would be hard to compel Castro to face charges in their state if he is released, and they fear Castro may flee the country, citing his phone conversations with a woman who lives in Mexico.

Attorneys representing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said he had not decided whether to deny or grant Minnesota’s extradition request and therefore the lawsuit was premature.

“I think ripeness is a significant issue,” Rodriguez told attorneys.

Abbott ordered an internal state investigation to determine if Castro can be legally considered a “fugitive.” Trevor W. Ezell, Abbott’s general counsel, also questioned whether the court could impose a deadline for the governor to respond to an extradition request.

“There’s nothing legally left for them to investigate,” Kimberly Ann Svendsen, an attorney representing the Minnesota attorney general, told the judge.

Abbott said last week he would not respond to the extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.

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