ICE officer charged in Minneapolis shooting released in Texas after immediate extradition rejected

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis was released from a Texas jail Thursday, after a judge refused to order his return to Minnesota. [KSAT 12]

An ICE officer accused of shooting a man and fabricating allegations about the incident walked free from a South Texas detention facility Thursday morning, after a federal judge determined he had no authority to block the release or compel the state to pursue extradition.

Christian Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, departed the Brownsville jail facility at dawn following U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr.'s ruling Wednesday. The officer quickly fled the area in a sport utility vehicle as media personnel gathered outside. Castro faces Minnesota charges of aggravated assault and filing a false police report stemming from a Jan. 14 incident in Minneapolis.

According to prosecutors, Castro shot 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg by discharging his weapon through the entrance of a residential home. Beyond the shooting allegation, Castro is accused of submitting fraudulent reports claiming that Sosa-Celis and a second individual had attacked an ICE officer using a broom handle and snow shovel, charges prosecutors contend were fabricated.

Minnesota authorities apprehended Castro in Cameron County on May 29 after a state judge issued a nationwide arrest warrant in May. The officer subsequently remained jailed in Brownsville, a border community, while Minnesota officials pursued extradition. However, under Texas law, Castro faced mandatory release after 90 days in custody absent an extradition order—a deadline that arrived Thursday.

Rodriguez's written order stated he lacked the legal authority to either prevent local law enforcement from releasing Castro or direct Gov. Greg Abbott to endorse the extradition warrant. Texas officials have neither denied the extradition request nor approved it. Instead, state attorneys indicated Abbott was awaiting results from an internal investigation examining whether Castro qualified as a "fugitive" under constitutional extradition provisions. The judge concluded "the case is not ripe for adjudication," blocking Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's request for a temporary restraining order filed the previous week. Minnesota law enforcement officials have expressed concern that Castro may flee across the border into Mexico.