A federal judge in Texas will hear arguments next week on whether to grant Minnesota’s request for the courts to force the extradition of a federal immigration agent who is criminally charged in Hennepin County.
The hearing set for this coming Tuesday comes as the 90-day deadline draws nearer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Christian Castro's release from custody in Cameron County, Texas.
Castro is charged with four counts of second degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the nonfatal shooting of Julio Sosa Solis on January 14th in Minneapolis. Castro allegedly fired through a front door of a home, striking Solis in the leg.
Castro was arrested on May 29 in Texas, by Texas Rangers, and has been held in Cameron County jail since then.
"Christian Castro is not above the law, and Greg Abbott isn't either," announced Attorney General Ellison. "Instead of promptly fulfilling his legal, ministerial duty to execute governor's extradition warrant for Castro, however, Governor Abbott has withheld the warrant and held up Castro's extradition for nearly three months."
Minnesota officials have tried repeatedly to secure Castro's extradition, but Abbott, the Republican Governor of Texas, who hasn't formally responded to those requests, showed no interest in cooperating with Minnesota at a recent press conference.
"Well , listen, while they're making demands, I've got a demand of my own, and that is it's time for Minnesota to step up and repay the United States of America and Americans for all the fraud that they've committed in their state under federal programs," Gov. Abbott says. "I will not respond to them at all until they step up and do what's right, and they acknowledge their fault and the fraud that took place. And they fully repay the United States of America for the fraud they committed."
"I don't trust Tim Walz on anything, let alone something like this," Abbott continued.
Hennepin County Mary Moriarty added that suits like the one they filed to get Castro back to Minnesota are extremely unusual.
"Extradition is a routine administrative process," Moriarty explains. "It isn't about politics. It is the law."
