A federal judge on Wednesday rejected Minnesota’s attempt to force Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) to extradite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent facing criminal charges stemming from the nonfatal shooting of an immigrant earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled that Minnesota’s lawsuit was premature, finding that Abbott had not actually denied the state’s extradition request. Instead, Abbott had asked the Texas secretary of state to investigate Minnesota’s demand and provide him with information about whether ICE officer Christian Castro should be surrendered.
“Minnesota cannot premise its causes of action on the allegation that Governor Abbott may violate those authorities in the future,” Rodriguez wrote. “It must prove that a violation has already occurred.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, sued Abbott last week, arguing that the governor’s failure to sign an extradition warrant was preventing Minnesota from prosecuting Castro. The state also warned that Castro could flee to Mexico if released from custody, citing phone conversations with a woman who lives in Mexico. Under Texas law, Castro is scheduled to be released on Thursday after 90 days in custody if the state has not extradited him.
Rodriguez acknowledged that Castro’s possible flight could significantly hinder Minnesota’s prosecution.
“The Court agrees that Castro’s flight to Mexico would impose a hardship on Minnesota’s prosecutorial efforts,” Rodriguez wrote. But he said that concern did not change the legal analysis because Minnesota still had to demonstrate that it was likely to succeed on the merits of its claims.
Castro was arrested in Texas in May and charged by Minnesota prosecutors with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Castro allegedly shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh while pursuing another man. Both men Castro was pursuing were in the country illegally, according to federal authorities.
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Abbott’s attorneys argued that Minnesota’s lawsuit should be dismissed, saying Castro’s release would not prevent the governor from later issuing a warrant for his extradition. They also accused Minnesota of attempting to pressure Texas into rushing the extradition process.
“The Constitution’s extradition authority, together with the limits placed upon it, must apply evenhandedly, no matter who the putative defendant is or what he is alleged to have done,” Abbott’s lawyers wrote.