Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Christian Castro was released from a Texas county jail on Thursday after a federal judge declined to mandate his immediate extradition to Minnesota, according to Al Jazeera and Associated Press reports. Castro had been held in detention since May following charges related to the nonfatal shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis on January 14. Under Texas law, authorities cannot hold a subject past a 90-day window without an enforced extradition order.
US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled that he lacked the legal authority to intervene or compel Texas Governor Greg Abbott to sign the pending extradition warrant. Governor Abbott had delayed responding to the paperwork while citing separate state investigations into Minnesota social programs. Minnesota officials had strongly opposed Castro`s release, warning that intercepted phone communications indicated the former agent might attempt to flee to Mexico.
Exiting the Carrizales-Rucker Cameron County Detention Center in Brownsville, Texas, Castro quickly boarded an SUV and departed without making public statements. While Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison vowed that legal proceedings to hold accountable individuals involved in the incident will continue, the expiration of the state detention limit paved the way for his immediate release.
