ICE officer Christian Castro freed in Minnesota-Texas extradition dispute

Christian Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer facing extradition from Texas to Minnesota after a January shooting, was released from a South Texas detention center Thursday after a federal judge denied Minnesota’s request to keep him jailed while the state pursued his transfer.

Castro walked free from the Carrizalez-Rucker Cameron Detention Center in Cameron County early Thursday morning, according to The Associated Press. He is charged with four counts of assault after allegedly firing through a closed door in Minneapolis on January 14 and wounding a Venezuelan man in the leg. Prosecutors also accuse him of making false statements about the incident.

Minnesota officials filed a lawsuit last week seeking to force Texas Governor Greg Abbott to approve Castro’s extradition. The state asked U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee based in Brownsville, to extend Castro’s detention beyond the 90-day legal limit while awaiting Abbott’s decision. Rodriguez rejected that request Wednesday, ruling Minnesota’s case was not yet ready for court action because Abbott has not formally refused extradition.

The judge acknowledged Abbott has taken longer than usual to decide but found no federal law requiring Texas to act within a specific timeframe. Rodriguez also determined that the risk Castro might flee did not justify overriding state detention limits.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is leading the extradition effort, said he disagreed with the ruling and accused Abbott of turning Texas into a “sanctuary state for violent criminals.” Ellison vowed to continue the lawsuit until Castro is returned to Minnesota to face charges. “I will never stop pursuing Castro wherever he may be to make him face justice in Minnesota,” he said in a statement.

Abbott’s spokesperson, Andrew Mahaleris, defended the governor’s delay, calling Minnesota’s legal move an “absurd claim.” In a court filing, Abbott argued he has not signed the extradition warrant because of doubts whether Castro qualifies as a fugitive, citing media reports suggesting Castro did not flee Minnesota but returned to Texas for work. The governor ordered Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden to investigate the matter on July 31, though the inquiry remains incomplete.

During a Tuesday hearing in Rodriguez’s Brownsville courtroom, Texas attorneys argued the investigation is being handled diligently. Minnesota’s legal team countered that Castro’s travel history was irrelevant and that Abbott has a constitutional duty under the Extradition Clause to surrender fugitives to other states.

Rodriguez concluded Wednesday that federal law does not authorize him to impose a deadline on Texas’s review and noted there was no evidence Abbott was intentionally delaying the process. “The threat of an indefinite consideration of Minnesota’s extradition request does not currently exist,” he wrote.

Castro cannot be rearrested in Texas on the Minnesota warrant without Abbott’s approval, though he could face arrest if he leaves the state. Minnesota’s extradition request remains pending as the legal and administrative process continues.

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