Judge rejects Minnesota push to extradite ICE officer from Texas

A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday rejected a push from Minnesota officials to force the extradition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer accused of shooting a Venezuelan migrant in the leg during the height of Operation Metro Surge earlier this year.

Christian Castro, 52, has been jailed in Brownsville, Texas, since late May on charges related to the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, including that he lied about how it unfolded.

Because Castro cannot legally be held for longer than 90 days while awaiting extradition, Minnesota had sought a court order requiring Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to sign the paperwork authorizing his transfer. Without it, he is set to be released Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled Wednesday that Minnesota’s bid was not ripe for consideration because Abbott has not yet taken any action on the warrant.

“Minnesota alleges that Governor Abbott has ‘refused to sign’ and has ‘with[eld]’ the rendition warrant. But the record reflects only that Governor Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the rendition warrant as to Castro,” Rodriguez wrote in a 13-page order.

The decision was a win for Abbott, who argued he was not obligated to hand Castro over to Minnesota authorities. The Texas secretary of State’s office is currently reviewing the request to determine whether Castro meets the definition of a “fugitive” under federal extradition law, the filing noted.

Minnesota officials also wanted Castro to remain in custody beyond the 90-day window over concerns that he is a flight risk and may try to leave the country. The state cited repeated jailhouse phone calls between the officer and a woman who lives in Mexico, during which he “expressed a desire to purchase property” in the country and “move there in the future.”

The Hill has reached out to Minnesota Gov. ’s (D) office for comment.

Castro is facing four counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 scuffle that occurred during an immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed following the incident that an officer had fired a “defensive shot” after being attacked by three men with a snow shovel and broom handle. One of those men, Sosa-Celis, was hit in the thigh and taken to the hospital.

But DHS officials later said they were investigating what appeared to be “untruthful statements” made by the officers after reviewing video evidence.

The Justice Department is reportedly weighing whether to bring federal charges against Castro, according to CNN .