An Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) agent, accused of shooting a migrant in Minneapolis and falsely reporting the incident, was released from a Texas prison on Thursday after a federal judge ruled that he could not prevent his release or force his extradition to Minnesota.
Christian Castro was released from a detention centre in Brownsville on Thursday morning, the Associated Press.
Federal Judge Fernando Rodríguez Jr. wrote that he lacked authority to prevent the county sheriff from releasing Castro or to order Texas Governor Greg Abbott to sign his extradition order.
Castro, 52, was arrested in Texas in May after Minnesota authorities issued an arrest warrant against him on four charges of second-degree assault and a charge of false complaint.
According to Texas law, Castro was to be released on Thursday after 90 days in custody, unless extradited.
Texas law states that a person can only be detained on an extradition warrant from another state for 90 days. After that, they have to be discharged. The sheriff holding Christian Castro has said he’ll be released tomorrow absent a court order or issuance of a rendition warrant https://t.co/DH90tcxMeg pic.twitter.com/LGjY2OQkbx
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison requested last week a temporary restraint order to block Castro's release or demand his return to Minnesota.
The charges derive from an ICE operation conducted on January 14 in Minneapolis against Julio César Sosa-Celis, who, according to authorities, entered the United States from Venezuela in August 2022.
National Security Department officials said Sosa-Celis fled a traffic control and ran into a house.
Investigators claim Castro fired through the main door without knowing that several people had just entered.
“The bullet crossed the door and hit a victim in the leg before being caught in the wall of a child’s room,” the prosecutor said.
Following the shootout, federal authorities accused Sosa-Celis and another Venezuelan, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, of assaulting an agent with a sleeve hand and a snow pal.
A federal judge later rejected those charges, leading to an investigation to determine whether two ICE agents lied under oath.
