CA, US & World
Judge Rejects Minnesota Bid to Keep ICE Agent in Texas Custody
A federal judge declined Wednesday to intervene in a politically sensitive extradition fight involving an ICE agent facing charges in Minnesota who is currently detained in Texas.
Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, rejected a lawsuit brought by Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz seeking to keep ICE agent Christian Castro behind bars while Texas considers Minnesota’s request to extradite him.
Rodriguez said Minnesota had not shown that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott violated federal law by not yet extraditing Castro. The judge also declined to order Texas to turn Castro over to Minnesota to face criminal charges.
“The record before the court … reveals that Governor Abbott has not denied the request for a rendition warrant,” Rodriguez wrote.
The ruling comes a day before Castro could potentially be released from custody. Texas law enforcement has held him under a policy that limits the detention of fugitives awaiting extradition to 90 days.
Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Treviño told CNN Wednesday that he is waiting for guidance from county attorneys on whether Castro will be released.
Castro was arrested by Texas Rangers in Cameron County on May 29 following a nationwide warrant. He faces four felony charges and a misdemeanor in Minnesota stemming from the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis in the Minneapolis area earlier this year.
Hennepin County prosecutors allege Castro shot Sosa-Celis in the leg through the front door of a home during the height of Operation Metro Surge. Prosecutors say the shooting also endangered other people inside the home.
Minnesota argued Castro could pose a flight risk to Mexico because of a romantic relationship with a woman there. Rodriguez acknowledged that a potential flight to Mexico could make Minnesota’s prosecution more difficult, but said that concern was not enough to overcome the procedural issues in the state’s lawsuit.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison vowed to continue pursuing the case, accusing Abbott of “playing with constitutional fire.”
Texas officials have pushed back against Minnesota’s characterization of Castro as a fugitive. Abbott’s office has argued that extradition powers apply to fugitives and that Texas is still determining whether Castro’s return to Texas qualifies as fleeing criminal liability.
“The court was right to reject Governor Walz’s absurd claim,” Abbott press secretary Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department is considering whether to bring federal charges against Castro. Officials in the department’s civil rights division have spoken with Minnesota prosecutors, though no decision had been announced as of Tuesday.
A federal prosecution would represent a significant move by the Trump administration, which has faced criticism over its handling of shootings involving ICE officers.
CNN’s Whitney Wild contributed to this report.
This story was updated to include statements.
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