Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (DFL) says the process of returning an ICE agent arrested in Texas in connection with the shooting of a Venezuelan man in north Minneapolis this winter is underway.
Walz says he made a formal request to Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) earlier this week to have Christian Castro sent back to the Twin Cities to face assault charges in Hennepin County District Court.
"We do this all the time," says Walz. "It doesn't get in the news. This one is a little more high-profile. Our expectation is they will follow through. There'd be no reason not to."
In a statement earlier this week the Department of Homeland Security calls Castro's case a federal issue that must be handled at the federal level.
Castro, of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, was taken into custody last week, 11 days after Minneapolis prosecutors charged him with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
Hennepin County, Minnesota prosecutors said the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension located Castro, 52, in Texas, and the Texas Rangers said they assisted in the arrest in Cameron County, which borders Mexico in the southernmost part of the state.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General said its agents were not involved in or present for Castro’s apprehension, denying the Hennepin County Attorney’s office’s claims in press statements about the arrest.
“Any characterization that DHS OIG agents participated in or led the arrest operation is inaccurate,” the Office of Inspector General said in a statement.
Castro had the option to post a $200,000 bond, but would have to appear in Minnesota on his own for his arraignment. By not posting bond, he faces extradition to Minnesota and would be jailed while his case proceeds.
In a statement last week, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty heralded the arrest as “a critical step forward in our prosecution of Mr. Castro.”
Castro is the second federal agent to be charged over their conduct during the Minnesota crackdown, which was known as Operation Metro Surge. He is one of two agents that ICE Director Todd Lyons said lied about the circumstances of the incident.
