Ex-ICE agent Christian Castro released as Texas extradition deadline lapses
The former federal officer, charged over a non-fatal shooting in Minneapolis, was freed after Governor Greg Abbott refused to sign the warrant, prompting a legal dispute between state and federal authorities.
Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Christian Castro was released from a Texas detention centre on Thursday morning after the statutory 90-day limit for holding an extradition subject expired. Castro had been detained since May in connection with the non-fatal shooting of 24-year-old Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration raid in Minneapolis on 14 January.
The release follows a ruling by a federal judge on Wednesday, who determined that the county sheriff could not continue to hold Castro because Texas Governor Greg Abbott refused to sign the extradition warrant. Abbott, a Republican and close political ally of President Donald Trump, cited an ongoing internal state investigation into whether Castro was legally a “fugitive” under the Extradition Clause. The governor also pointed to alleged fraud in Minnesota’s social service programmes, which Trump had used to justify the immigration crackdown.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had filed a request for a temporary restraining order and sued Abbott to force the signing of the warrant. Ellison argued that the governor’s inaction unlawfully sidestepped federal extradition requirements to bolster the administration’s deportation campaign. Although Ellison stated that legal proceedings would persist, he did not specify the details of future actions.
The original incident occurred during a mass deportation effort that began in December, involving a large-scale deployment of federal agents to Minnesota. Prosecutors allege that Castro wrongfully accused Sosa-Celis and another man of assaulting an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel. The operation lasted less than three months and resulted in the deaths of two US citizens, fuelling protests and allegations of civil liberties violations.
Upon exiting the Carrizales-Rucker Cameron County Detention Centre near Brownsville, Castro motioned towards media personnel before quickly entering an SUV that drove off. Minnesota officials had warned that Castro might flee the US, citing calls he made from jail to a woman in Mexico regarding marriage and purchasing a house.
While the judge conceded that Castro could potentially flee the country, the ruling noted that the threat of injury alone does not create an issue ripe for adjudication. The outcome of the internal state investigation into Castro’s legal status remains pending.
