ICE officer charged in Minneapolis shooting released from Texas jail

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer accused of shooting a Venezuelan man in the leg during an immigration crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year was released from a Texas jail on Thursday morning, a day after a judge declined to force his extradition.

Christian Castro was freed from custody just before 7 a.m. local time, Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Treviño confirmed in an email to The Hill.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) last week after alleging Abbott had refused to sign the paperwork authorizing Castro’s transfer so he could face charges in connection with the January shooting.

Castro had remained behind bars since his arrest in late May but legally could not be held longer than 90 days while awaiting extradition.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled Wednesday that Minnesota’s bid was not ripe for consideration because no final action had been taken yet.

“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.

Abbott argued that he was not obligated to hand Castro over to Minnesota authorities while the Texas secretary of state’s office reviews whether Castro meets the definition of a “fugitive” under federal extradition law.

Minnesota was also pushing to keep Castro in custody, warning that he may try to flee the country once released. Court filings show that the state raised concerns about 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.”

“Minnesota should never have had to file this lawsuit or this motion,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) said in a Wednesday statement. “Greg Abbott has a black-letter legal and constitutional duty to sign the rendition warrant to return the fugitive Castro to Minnesota — full stop — and we are only here because Abbott is playing with constitutional fire.”

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 incident that occurred during Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities.

Following the incident, the Department of Homeland Security claimed an officer fired a “defensive shot” after being attacked by three men with a snow shovel and broom handle. One of those men was Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was hit in the thigh and taken to the hospital.

Authorities have alleged Castro lied about the circumstances of the shooting.

ICE has come under significant scrutiny after a string of shootings, several of which have been fatal.

Since President Trump took office, immigration officers have shot 23 people, killing six. Three of those deaths have been of U.S. citizens.

Federal authorities have also resisted cooperating with Minnesota officials following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Earlier this year, Minnesota state and county officials sued the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to obtain records after the Trump administration said the FBI would buck precedent in not coordinating with local law enforcement.