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

Brownsville, Texas (AP) — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, Christian Castro, was released from a detention center in Texas on Thursday after a judge denied his extradition back to Minnesota. The allegations against Castro stem from a shooting incident in Minneapolis on January 14, 2023, where he allegedly shot a 24-year-old man, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, in the leg and lied about it.

Castro is also accused of falsely accusing Sosa-Celis and another individual of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel. A judge in Minnesota had issued a warrant for Castro's arrest in May, leading to his arrest in Cameron County on May 29. Despite Minnesota authorities seeking his extradition, Castro was released after 90 days of detention in Brownsville, a city near the Mexican border, due to Texas law and laws barring extradition.