ICE officer Christian Castro was released from a Brownsville detention facility Thursday after a federal judge ruled that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was entitled to review Minnesota’s extradition request and found no evidence that Abbott had acted in bad faith.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer facing criminal charges in Minnesota was released from custody in Texas on Thursday morning after a federal judge declined to force Gov. Greg Abbott to surrender him to Minnesota authorities.
Christian Castro left a detention center in Brownsville, CNN reported, citing an email from Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino.
Castro is wanted in Minnesota in connection with the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant.
Minnesota prosecutors have charged Castro with assault and falsely reporting a crime.
According to prosecutors, Castro fired through the front door of a Minneapolis residence and struck Sosa-Celis in the leg.
Authorities also allege that Castro later gave a false account of the confrontation by claiming Sosa-Celis and another man attacked an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.
The extradition dispute centered on whether Abbott had discretion to evaluate Minnesota’s request or was required to approve Castro’s transfer as a largely ministerial matter.
Minnesota argued that the Texas governor did not have broad authority to withhold extradition and accused Abbott of acting in bad faith by delaying action on the request.
Texas rejected that argument.
Abbott maintained that Castro had not fled Minnesota to avoid prosecution because ICE had ordered him to return to Texas.
That distinction became central to the dispute over whether Castro satisfied the requirements for extradition.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. sided with Texas on the immediate question before the court.
Rodriguez ruled that Abbott was within his authority to review whether Castro qualified for extradition and said Minnesota had not shown that the governor was acting in bad faith.
The ruling blocked Minnesota’s effort to compel Texas to return Castro through emergency federal court intervention.
Castro remained in Texas custody while that litigation was pending but was released Thursday following the decision.
His release does not resolve the criminal case against him in Minnesota.
The assault and false-reporting charges remain pending, and Minnesota authorities continue to accuse Castro of unlawfully shooting Sosa-Celis and then misrepresenting what occurred.
The case has become both a criminal prosecution and an interstate legal dispute involving the authority of governors under extradition procedures.
Minnesota maintains that Castro should be returned to face the charges filed against him.
Texas has argued that Abbott is entitled to determine whether the legal prerequisites for extradition have been satisfied before agreeing to transfer him.
For now, Rodriguez’s ruling leaves Castro out of custody in Texas while Minnesota’s prosecution remains unresolved and officials consider what additional legal steps may be available.
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