The Cameron County Sheriff’s Office released the ICE officer who is wanted in Minnesota for an officer-involved shooting incident. The release came after Texas Governor Greg Abbott did not sign the rendition extradition requested by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The South Texas sheriff’s office released ICE officer Christian Castro early Thursday morning, the Associated Press reported. A small gathering of reporters and onlookers stood witness as Castro walked out of the jail, waved, and drove away in an SUV shortly before sunrise.
His release from the Cameron County jail comes one day after a U.S. District Court judge in Brownsville refused to take action on a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and his Attorney General Keith Ellison against Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Cameron County Sheriff. Breitbart Texas reported that the judge stated the case was not ripe for action at the time.
Judge Fernando Rodriguez, in the Southern District of Texas, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018, ruled that the matter is “not ripe” because the U.S. Constitution’s Extradition Clause and the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act do not set a specific deadline, according to the order issued on Wednesday afternoon.
The court emphasized that Gov. Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the warrant. Abbott formally referred the matter to the Texas Secretary of State on July 31, 2026, to investigate whether Castro is legally a “fugitive”—a review step explicitly authorized under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 51.13 § 4. The judge ruled that Abbott has not formally denied the extradition request and that Minnesota’s claim rests on speculation about future events, making it “not ripe for federal court adjudication.”
The Hill noted that Governor Abbott has not expressly refused to sign the rendition warrant. The court record states Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the warrant. The article adds:
Castro is facing four counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 scuffle that occurred during an immigration enforcement operation in the Twin Cities.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed following the incident that an officer had fired a “defensive shot” after being attacked by three men with a snow shovel and broom handle. One of those men, Sosa-Celis, was hit in the thigh and taken to the hospital.
But DHS officials later said they were investigating what appeared to be “untruthful statements” made by the officers after reviewing video evidence.
The Justice Department is reportedly weighing whether to bring federal charges against Castro, according to CNN.
The AP reported:
Castro is accused of firing a gun through the front door of a Minneapolis home, shooting Sosa-Celis in the leg. Prosecutors say Castro also falsely accused Sosa-Celis and another man of attacking an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.
Minnesota officials believe, due to the alleged content of a recorded jail message, that Castro will flee to Mexico after his release, the AP added. Judge Rodriguez addressed the threat to flee in his order, stating that the potential flight risk detailed in Minnesota’s petition does not override Texas law.
In a war of words between the two states, AG Ellison stated, “Greg Abbott is turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals.”
Abbott responded, according to the AP, “You guys are such bad lawyers. You showed up unprepared, uninformed & unpersuasive,” Abbott wrote online. “You don’t know the law & it showed.”
Ellison’s concerns about Texas becoming a sanctuary state for violent criminals fell on deaf ears in Texas, in part because of Minnesota’s continued refusal to turn over illegal aliens with violent criminal histories to ICE officers.
It is not clear what, if any, options Minnesota has at its disposal at this time.
Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.
The case is styled Tim Walz, et al. v. Greg Abbott, et al., Civil Action No. 1:26-CV-00906, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Brownsville Division.
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