STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
An ICE agent is out of jail this morning in southern Texas. This agent is accused of shooting a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis early this year. He was awaiting possible extradition to Minnesota. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider has been following the case. Andrew, good morning.
ANDREW SCHNEIDER, BYLINE: Good morning.
INSKEEP: What led to the charges against this agent?
SCHNEIDER: Back in January, Agent Christian Castro was in north Minneapolis as part of Operation Metro Surge. He fired his weapon through a closed door and wounded Julio Sosa-Celis. Castro initially claimed under oath that Sosa-Celis had attacked him. But surveillance footage contradicted that. The Hennepin County attorney's office charged Castro with four counts of assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
But by then, Castro had left Minnesota, prompting a county judge to issue a warrant for his arrest. Castro was arrested in May in a county along the Texas-Mexican border. He could only be held pending extradition for 90 days. Today is the 90th day. And he was released just before 7 a/m. central time from Cameron County jail, according to sheriff Manuel Trevino. No attorney spoke for Castro in the Texas extradition case. And he has not made any kind of public statement since
INSKEEP: OK. So what was it that Minnesota was seeking in this court hearing on Wednesday?
SCHNEIDER: Well, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had his attorney seek two things. They wanted to compel Texas Governor Greg Abbott to sign an extradition warrant for Castro. They also asked the judge for a temporary restraining order that would keep Castro in jail until Abbott signed the warrant. They were concerned Castro would flee to Mexico if released. Abbott, though, previously said it wasn't clear whether Castro was a fugitive or whether he'd simply been reassigned to Texas. He said Texas officials are still investigating, and he'll decide whether to sign the warrant when that investigation's done.
INSKEEP: He'll decide when to sign it when the investigation is done, he says. But how did the judge speak on all of this?
SCHNEIDER: Well, Minnesota had contended, by waiting that long, Abbott had effectively refused to sign it. They contended that violated the Constitution. The judge said that Abbott hadn't definitively refused to sign the warrant, and he's allowed to order an investigation before signing. And the judge also said that while Castro may pose a flight risk, that alone's not enough to merit the court intervening.
INSKEEP: Oh, that's very interesting. They didn't say he is not a flight risk. They said he might be a flight risk, but it's not enough of one to worry about. How has Minnesota responded?
SCHNEIDER: Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty said at a press conference his should cause alarm for absolutely everyone. The audio is from Minnesota Public Radio.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARY MORIARTY: Because imagine a United States where somebody can commit a crime in one state and then run to another state where they feel perhaps somebody is - you know, has a beef with another governor or is more politically aligned with them, and they just don't return them. That is not tenable. That's chaos here. That is preventing people from getting due process, getting justice in cases where they are charged.
SCHNEIDER: And Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a statement accusing Abbott of turning Texas into a sanctuary state for violent criminals.
INSKEEP: OK. So that is the final part of this, the way that Texas acts in the days ahead. How has Texas responded to the ruling?
SCHNEIDER: Abbott's spokesman said the court was right to reject what he called Governor Walz's absurd claim. He said today's order rebuffs Minnesota's efforts to conscript federal courts into commandeering the authority of Governor Abbott's office.
INSKEEP: Andrew Schneider of Houston Public Media. Thanks for the reporting. Really appreciate it.
SCHNEIDER: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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