Minnesota Extradition Lawsuit Targets Abbott Over Minneapolis ICE Shooting Case

Minnesota seeks court order to transfer ICE officer from Texas custody

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Minnesota leaders sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday to force the extradition of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged in connection with the shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis earlier this year. The federal lawsuit seeks to bring Christian Castro, 52, from a South Texas jail to Minnesota to face assault and false-report charges.

The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, marks the latest escalation in Minnesota’s effort to prosecute Castro over the January shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison argued that Abbott has a legal duty to honor the state’s extradition request and cannot withhold a rendition warrant based on the underlying allegations.

“Abbott’s refusal to extradite Castro is unconstitutional and violates federal law and Texas law,” Ellison said in a statement announcing the action. “I will not stand for that, so I’m taking Abbott to court.”

Castro faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The charges were announced May 18, about four months after Castro allegedly fired into an occupied Minneapolis home during Operation Metro Surge, a major immigration enforcement operation launched in Minnesota in late 2025.

Surveillance footage central to Minnesota charges

Prosecutors allege Castro shot Sosa-Celis in the leg while responding to the residence. Castro told federal investigators that Sosa-Celis and another man attacked him with a shovel and broom before the gunfire, but surveillance footage contradicted that account, according to court documents cited by Minnesota officials.

Castro was arrested in Cameron County, Texas, in late May with assistance from the Texas Rangers. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz subsequently sent an extradition request to Abbott, seeking Castro’s transfer to Minnesota authorities for prosecution.

Minnesota’s lawsuit says Abbott has not signed the necessary rendition warrant despite the two states’ usual cooperation on such requests. State officials said Abbott has typically approved Minnesota extradition requests in roughly 30 days and has approved several unrelated requests in recent months, including one involving a defendant accused of the same offense level as Castro.

Ellison warned Abbott in a letter last week that Minnesota would pursue litigation if the governor did not sign the paperwork by Monday afternoon. The attorney general described extradition as a ministerial, non-discretionary responsibility under federal law and argued that governors cannot deny a request by weighing the merits of a criminal case.

Texas custody deadline raises concern

The lawsuit also names Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino, asking the court to bar his office from releasing Castro before Minnesota agents can take custody. Minnesota argued that Texas cannot hold a person awaiting extradition for more than 90 days and said Castro could flee and avoid prosecution if released before a transfer is completed.

Abbott’s office initially declined to comment on pending extradition matters. During an unrelated news conference Tuesday, Abbott said he would not respond to Minnesota’s demand until state leaders addressed alleged fraud in federal programs. The governor’s comments echoed the Trump administration’s previous effort to link its Minnesota immigration crackdown to a welfare-fraud scandal in the state.

The Minneapolis shooting case is part of broader legal conflict over immigration enforcement in Minnesota. In March, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the state sued the federal government for evidence connected to the Sosa-Celis shooting and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers.

As of Tuesday, Castro remained in Texas custody, Abbott had not signed the extradition warrant, and Minnesota’s federal lawsuit was pending. Trevino did not immediately respond to a request for comment.