A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, charged in the nonfatal shooting of a Minneapolis man in January, has been released from a Texas jail.
Christian Castro was released from jail just before 7 a.m. on Aug. 27, according to Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Treviño, after being arrested by Texas Rangers on May 29 and being detained for 90 days, the maximum allowed under state law.
Castro's release also comes less than 24 hours after a federal judge in Brownsvilledenied Minnesota's attempt to compel Castro's extradition after it sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Aug. 18.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also asked the courts to bar the release of Castro from Cameron County until Abbott extradited him back, arguing Castro could flee
to Mexico as the jail sits on the U.S.-Mexico border.
The court sided with Abbott and Texas, finding that the facts had not fully developed, so it lacked subject matter jurisdiction.
"Otherwise, Minnesota would be impermissibly seeking relief based solely on a premature or speculative allegation about possible future events — i.e., that Governor Abbott will wrongfully deny the request for extradition," U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote in his opinion.
After the judge ruled, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he disagrees with the decision and will continue to "litigate this case."
"Minnesota should never have had to file this lawsuit or this motion," Ellison said in a statement. "Greg Abbott has a black-letter legal and constitutional duty to sign the rendition warrant to return the fugitive Castro to Minnesota — full stop — and we are only here because Abbott is playing with constitutional fire."
Castro was charged in a Minnesota state court with four counts of assault in connection with the nonfatal shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis on Jan. 14 in Hennepin County during ICE's Operation Metro Surge.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ICE agent released from Texas jail as Minnesota loses extradition bid
