A Trump-appointed federal judge handed Democrat Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and far-left Attorney General Keith Ellison a stinging defeat on Wednesday, refusing to force Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott to extradite an ICE officer charged in connection with an immigration operation shooting.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., Southern District of Texas, denied the request from Minnesota for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against Governor Abbott and Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino. The court refused to compel Abbott to execute a rendition warrant or to order Sheriff Trevino to hold ICE officer Christian Castro, age 52, beyond the statutory deadline.
Judge Rodriguez, 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 court also ordered that under Articles 51.05 and 51.07 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, an individual detained solely on an out-of-state extradition warrant must be discharged after 90 days if no governor’s rendition warrant has been executed. Judge Rodriguez said that Sheriff Trevino cannot violate Texas law by holding Castro beyond the 90-day deadline, which expires on August 27, 2026. He added that the potential flight risk detailed in Minnesota’s petition does not overrule Texas law.
Minnesota provided evidence from a recorded jail call where Castro allegedly said he would flee to Mexico if he is released from the Brownsville, Texas, jail where he is being held.
Just Rodriguez did express doubt about Governor Abbott’s legal theory that Castro is not a “fugitive” because he was ordered to travel to Texas by ICE. The judge cited U.S. Supreme Court precedent from Roberts v. Reilly and Hyatt v. New York, stating that “fugitive” status requires only that the accused committed an alleged crime in one state and subsequently left the jurisdiction, regardless of whether the departure was voluntary or employer-ordered.
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.
Ultimately, the federal court’s refusal to interfere with Texas’s statutory process leaves Governor Tim Walz and Minnesota prosecutors with little recourse as the 90-day detention clock runs out on Thursday. While Judge Rodriguez acknowledged Minnesota’s concerns over potential flight risks, he firmly upheld the constitutional boundaries governing interstate extradition—reaffirming that federal courts cannot manufacture arbitrary deadlines or strip state governors of their deliberate investigative authority.
With Christian Castro set to be discharged from the Cameron County Jail upon the expiration of the statutory deadline, the legal maneuvering by Minnesota officials has stalled, leaving any future accountability to Governor Abbott’s pending administrative review or a potential federal prosecution by the Department of Justice.
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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