AUSTIN, TX – A contentious shooting involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer from this past January in Minnesota has dovetailed into a war of words between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison following a failed attempt by Ellison’s office to secure the extradition of the ICE officer.
The case regarding ICE Officer Christian Castro is reportedly one rife with complexities, as he’s currently facing criminal charges in Minnesota pertaining to a non-fatal shooting executed during the course of his duties back in January.
According to reports, Castro was among fellow ICE officers during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis on January 14 when he allegedly fired his service weapon through the door of a targeted residence, striking 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg. When reporting the incident to officials, Castro reportedly claimed Sosa-Celis and another individual attempted to attack a fellow ICE officer with a snow shovel and broom handle, leading to the non-fatal shooting.
Following an internal investigation into the incident, ICE placed Castro and another ICE officer on administrative leave, claiming the two allegedly made “untruthful statements” about the shooting incident. Federal charges against Sosa-Celis and the other individual alleged to have attacked the ICE officers were also dropped in the wake of the investigation after officials said new evidence was “materially inconsistent” with the allegations in the original charging documents.
Castro was reportedly ordered to return to Texas by the agency following the internal investigation, which is where he was eventually arrested after a Minnesota judge issued a nationwide warrant for his arrest this past May. The ICE officer was taken into custody on May 29 in Cameron County, where he was held on the extradition warrant until his mandated release on August 27 in accordance with Texas law.
Minnesota reportedly filed an emergency request to keep Castro in custody, which was denied by a federal judge, leading to the state’s AG to take shots at Governor Abbott for not signing off on Castro’s extradition.
“Greg Abbott has a black-letter legal and constitutional duty to sign the rendition warrant to return fugitive Christian Castro to Minnesota — full stop. Abbott is playing with constitutional fire,” AG Ellison shared on X following the federal judge’s ruling, further adding, “By refusing to extradite Castro, Greg Abbott is turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals. Regardless of today’s ruling, I will keep fighting so that Agent Castro will face justice in Minnesota.”
Governor Abbott responded to AG Ellison’s framing of the matter on X, firing back with, “You guys are such bad lawyers. You showed up unprepared, uninformed & unpersuasive. You don't know the law & it showed. [Minnesota] is the literal definition of a sanctuary state because you refuse to assist in enforcing immigration laws. I'll put Minneapolis at the top of the list for future bus drop offs if we ever have a President like Joe Biden again.”
The Texas governor has yet to determine whether Castro qualifies as a fugitive from justice, having handed off the matter for further review to the Texas Secretary of State.
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