US Judge Rejects Minnesota's Bid to Force Texas to Extradite ICE Agent

A US federal judge on August 19 rejected a bid to force the state of Texas to extradite an officer from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) accused of shooting a man during an immigration raid in Minnesota and then lying about the incident.

The ruling comes as the case of ICE officer Christian Castro, 28, draws national attention. Castro has been held at a county jail in Texas since May. Minnesota sought his extradition to face charges of assault and making false statements in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis.

Under Texas law, the state cannot hold a person subject to an extradition order for more than 90 days. After that period, the suspect must be transferred or released. That deadline for Castro was set to expire on August 20, adding urgency to the case.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month, Minnesota accused Republican Governor Greg Abbott of refusing to authorize extradition for political reasons. However, in his August 19 ruling, Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. said he could not intervene because Abbott had not yet acted and therefore had not violated any law.

“The record merely shows that Governor Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the extradition order for Castro,” Rodriguez wrote.

Castro faces charges related to the non-fatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration raid in Minnesota on January 14, part of a broader deportation push under President Donald Trump.

The operation, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, lasted less than three months and sparked protests and accusations of civil rights violations from local residents and watchdog groups. Prosecutors say Castro fired through the front door of a Minneapolis home, wounding Sosa-Celis in the leg.

After the incident, Castro and another ICE officer accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking federal agents with broom handles and a snow shovel. Those accusations were later dropped when video of the incident was released. Criminal charges against Sosa-Celis were also dismissed.

In February, then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons confirmed that officers appeared to have “falsified testimony.” Castro and his colleague were suspended from duty. Castro is currently held in Brownsville, Texas. Minnesota officials fear he could flee the country if released, citing jail calls to a woman in Mexico in which Castro discussed plans to marry and buy a house in Mexico after his release.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison last week filed a motion to temporarily bar Castro's release and compel Governor Abbott to sign the extradition order. Ellison accused Abbott of failing to act in order to support Trump's mass deportation campaign and to circumvent federal extradition law.

“For nearly three months, Greg Abbott has refused to hand over ICE officer Christian Castro to Minnesota, where he is charged with shooting a Minnesotan in his own home,” Ellison wrote on social media. “Abbott has a legal obligation to hand him over. Instead, he has chosen to ignore the law.”