Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday, seeking to compel the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer. The officer, Christian Castro, is accused of shooting a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis in January 2024 during a federal immigration enforcement operation.
The legal action follows a series of attempts by Minnesota officials to secure Castro's return. Governor Tim Walz (D) first requested the extradition in June, and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty submitted additional paperwork on July 30. Castro was arrested by Texas Rangers in May and has remained in a south Texas jail while Governor Abbott has not signed the necessary warrant for his transfer.
Castro, 52, faces four counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime. Prosecutors allege that during "Operation Metro Surge," Castro pursued Alfredo Aljorna into a residence and fired through a door, striking Aljorna’s roommate, Julio Sosa-Celis, in the leg. While federal charges were initially filed against the two men based on Castro's report of being attacked, those charges were dropped after police video provided a different account.
The scale of the dispute centers on the legal obligations of governors under the U.S. Constitution and state laws. Attorney General Ellison argues that the refusal to sign the warrant is unconstitutional and violates both federal and Texas law. If the court rules in favor of Minnesota, it would reinforce the requirement for states to honor extradition requests for criminal defendants. If the refusal is upheld, it could set a precedent for other governors to potentially block the transfer of individuals charged with crimes in different states, impacting how cross-border criminal justice is administered.
The immediate day-to-day impact is currently limited to the continued detention of Castro in a Texas jail rather than a Minnesota facility. However, a resolution will signal when the Minnesota court system can proceed with its criminal trial. The incident occurred during a broader period of immigration enforcement that had already drawn public attention following a separate fatal ICE shooting of a U.S. citizen. The next steps in the case depend on the Texas federal court's response to the lawsuit; as of Tuesday, Governor Abbott's office had not provided a public comment on the litigation.