A federal judge declined Wednesday to order Texas to extradite an ICE officer to Minnesota to face charges of assaulting a migrant, siding with Gov. Greg Abbott, who has cast the battle as a tug-of-war between red and blue states.
Minnesota fears that the officer, Christian Castro, will flee to Mexico if given the chance. It said Mr. Abbott, a Republican ally of President Trump, is being obstinate in not carrying out the extradition, which in most other cases would be a routine matter.
But Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee to the court in southern Texas, said the law allows Mr. Abbott time to review the extradition request. He said he won’t impose an artificial deadline on the governor.
“Ample caselaw supports Governor Abbott’s decision to investigate whether Castro is a fugitive for purposes of the Extradition Clause and the statutes,” the judge wrote.
The case has become a symbol of the divide between Democratic and Republican states, mixing immigration enforcement and government program fraud.
Mr. Abbott has said he would not act on the extradition request until Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz acknowledges culpability in the massive amount of pandemic and Medicaid assistance fraud federal authorities have said is taking place in the Democrat-dominated state.
“While they’re making demands, I got a demand of my own, and that is: It’s time for Minnesota to step up and repay the United States of America and Americans for all the fraud that they have committed in their state under federal programs,” the governor said this month.
Officer Castro was part of the surge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel who went to Minnesota late last year and earlier this year as part of Mr. Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
On Jan. 14, Officer Castro fired a shot from his gun into a home, wounding an occupant, Judge Rodriguez said.
The shooting came between two others, where U.S. citizens were killed.
Initially, ICE said men had attacked Officer Castro and the shooting occurred as he was fending off the attack.
Officer Castro is now accused of fabricating that story.
The man who was shot, Julio Sosa-Celis, was initially charged with beating the ICE officer. Those charges were dropped in February after the Justice Department said the evidence didn’t support Officer Castro’s version of events.
Minnesota prosecutors indicted Officer Castro on May 18 on four felonies and one misdemeanor stemming from the encounter. The state issued a warrant for Officer Castro’s arrest the same day.
Cameron County, in Texas, carried out the arrest on May 29, and a few days later Mr. Walz, a Democrat, formally requested extradition. Officer Castro has remained in custody in Cameron County since his arrest.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, also a Democrat, said Mr. Abbott had a duty to carry out the extradition and said the law didn’t allow him any discretion.
Under Texas law, Officer Castro can be held only for 90 days on the extradition request. That time runs out on Thursday.
Minnesota authorities have cited jail phone calls from Officer Castro to a woman in Mexico they say described a romantic relationship — and a reason for him to flee the country.
Mr. Abbott has questioned whether Officer Castro is subject to extradition.
Texas has argued that he isn’t a fugitive because he didn’t flee Minnesota. Instead, he was ordered back to Texas, his regular duty station, by his superiors at ICE.
The Trump administration this week weighed in with documentation backing up that version of events.
Mr. Ellison said Mr. Abbott is “playing with constitutional fire.”
“By refusing to extradite Castro, Greg Abbott is turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals. Regardless of today’s ruling, I will keep fighting so that Agent Castro will face justice in Minnesota,” the attorney general said on social media.
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