State Attorney General Keith Ellison has called for the transfer of an ICE agent accused of lying about a non-fatal shooting.
Published August 18, 2026
Minnesota’s attorney general is suing Texas’ governor to force the extradition of a federal agent charged with fatally shooting a man during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison alleges that Texas Governor Greg Abbott has refused to fulfill his “mandatory” obligation to transport Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Christian Castro to stand trial.
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“Governor Abbott has suspended the warrant and put Mr. Castro’s extradition on hold for nearly three months,” Ellison told reporters Tuesday. “He doesn’t have the discretion to refuse it.”
Mr. Ellison also asked the district court in southern Texas to prohibit Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino from allowing Mr. Castro to be released.
Castro’s case has become part of a national debate over transparency and excessive force during President Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
The agent was involved in the January 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosascelis, a Venezuelan man living in Minnesota. Officials allege that Mr. Castro fired a gun into Mr. Sosascelis’ front door, hitting him in the leg.
The Trump administration initially claimed the agents fired in self-defense and accused Sosascelis and two others of attacking officers with brooms and snow shovels during immigration enforcement.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went so far as to call the incident an “attempted murder” of ICE officers.
But in February, federal prosecutors dropped charges against Sosascelis and his roommate, Alfredo Algiorna, after footage emerged that contradicted the testimony of ICE agents.
In a statement that month, then-acting ICE Director Todd Lyons acknowledged that Castro and a second ICE agent appeared to have lied about the incident. The two officers were subsequently placed on administrative leave.
“A joint review of video evidence by ICE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) determined that sworn statements provided by two separate officers appear to have made false statements,” Lyons said in a statement at the time.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in May charged Castro with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
“Mr. Castro is an ICE officer, but just because he has a federal badge does not exempt him from state prosecution for criminal activity in Minnesota,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement.
Mr. Castro was arrested in Texas on May 29 and has remained in custody since then.
But Mr. Ellison expressed concern that Texas officials, including Mr. Abbott, an ally of President Trump, may seek to release Mr. Castro rather than bring him to trial.
The Minnesota attorney general said Castro is a flight risk and is likely to cross the U.S. border into Mexico.
“We know that (Mr. Castro) has some ties to Mexico, and we know that he is thinking about going there someday,” Ellison said. “So we believe he is a dangerous individual.”
Abbott’s office issued a statement to The Associated Press saying it does not comment on “pending extradition matters.”
Under Texas law, Mr. Ellison said Mr. Castro, 52, could be released as early as next week, or after 90 days in custody, if Mr. Abbott does not agree to extradition.
The Sosa Celis shooting was one of several incidents this year that raised questions about the use of deadly force during immigration proceedings.
The Minneapolis area became the target of President Trump’s most aggressive immigration enforcement campaign, dubbed Operation Metro Surge.
Operation Metro Surge, which lasted from December to February, was seen by critics as an escalation in immigration authorities’ tactics, including warrantless searches.
Two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretty, were killed by operatives during protests against the operation.
