ICE agent spends three months in Texas jail as governors fight extradition

Abbott refused extradition; Walz sued; federal judge ordered release

Federal ICE agent Christian Castro, 52, was booked into the Hennepin County Jail in Minnesota on Wednesday after spending three months in a Cameron County, Texas, jail while Minnesota officials sought his extradition, UPI reported. His transfer came after a months-long standoff between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with Abbott refusing to sign the extradition order and Walz filing suit over the refusal.

Castro was booked around 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday on four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime, UPI reported. He has not yet entered a plea. His bail was set at $200,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court Thursday. Castro drove to Minneapolis to turn himself in but was arrested before that could happen, The Guardian reported.

The state charges stem from a Jan. 14 shooting in Minneapolis that wounded Julio C. Sosa-Celis after a car chase and foot pursuit with his roommate, Alfredo Aljorna, UPI reported. Sosa-Celis is from Venezuela. Both men were living in Minnesota legally under Temporary Protected Status. Charges against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were dropped on Feb. 13, UPI reported.

The Department of Homeland Security initially claimed that an officer had fired a “defensive shot” after being attacked by three men with a snow shovel and broom handle, UPI reported. Sosa-Celis was hit in the thigh and taken to the hospital. Department officials later said they were investigating “untruthful statements” made by the officers after reviewing video evidence, UPI reported.

Castro was part of the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota in January, UPI reported. During those operations, agents arrested thousands of people, battled with protesters and shot three people, including U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Both Good and Pretti died, UPI reported.

After Minnesota filed state charges against Castro, he was arrested and jailed in Cameron County, Texas, for three months while Minnesota officials tried to have him extradited to face the state charges, UPI reported.

A federal judge ruled on Aug. 27 that Castro was to be released because he cannot be held more than 90 days without extradition, UPI reported. Because Castro did not agree to leave the state, Abbott would have had to sign the extradition order. He did not.

Abbott’s refusal ignited a feud between Abbott and Walz, UPI reported. Walz filed suit against Abbott for denying the extradition.

Since then, Castro has been indicted in federal court, UPI reported. It was the first time the Justice Department charged an officer for conduct that occurred on duty during the immigration operations under the second Trump administration.