An ICE agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis in January has been released from a Texas jail with no clear indication as to the future of his charges.
Christian Castro was one of thousands of agents that descended upon Minnesota during Donald Trump’s Operation Metro Surge. On January 14, Castro allegedly chased Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, a DoorDash driver, to the entryway of his home. Upon arriving at the residence, Castro shot Aljorna’s roommate, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, in the leg. Castro claimed at the time that he shot Sosa-Celis in self-defense, purporting that the Venezuelan national had attacked him with a snow shovel.
But even Trump’s Justice Department had a difficult time proving that one. In a rare reversal, the DOJ moved to dismiss charges against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna relating to the assault, and Castro was the one left facing criminal consequences. Surveillance footage of the encounter released in April showed Sosa-Celis tossing the shovel early into his exchange with the ICE agent, and Castro firing shots into the home.
By mid-May, a Minneapolis state court charged Castro with four counts of assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime, issuing a nationwide warrant for his arrest. Days later, Texas Rangers cuffed Castro in Cameron County. He remained in jail until Thursday.
But the ensuing extradition process would prove to be a tumultuous one. Defying historical precedent, Texas Governor Greg Abbott opted not to comply with the warrant and hand Castro over to Minnesotan authorities. Abbott questioned whether the agent qualified as a fugitive since Castro had not technically fled Minnesota but had rather been transferred to work in Texas by the Department of Homeland Security.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. refused to force the extradition, despite fears that Castro would evade further capture by fleeing to Mexico.
“Governor Abbott still has the ability to prevent Christian Castro from walking out of jail. He can choose to stop harboring a fugitive by simply signing the extradition paperwork today,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement following the decision. “If Castro walks out of jail tomorrow and disappears into Mexico, it will be the fault of one person—Greg Abbott.”
By 7 a.m. on Thursday, Castro’s detention had hit the maximum limit for a pending extradition as set by Texas law, and he was released.
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