Judge Denies Minnesota Bid to Halt ICE Officer's Release

Federal Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. denied Minnesota’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt the release of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Christian Castro, who is charged with shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis earlier this year. The decision means Castro could be released as early as Thursday due to Texas' 90-day detention limit.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week, arguing that the state's actions are unlawful. During a hearing on Tuesday, attorneys for Minnesota argued it would be difficult to compel Castro to face charges if he is released and fear he may flee the country. This concern is based on phone calls Castro made from jail to a woman in Mexico discussing marriage and buying a house there upon his release.

The shooting occurred during Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale deployment of federal agents to Minnesota under former President Donald Trump that lasted less than three months. The operation sparked protests and allegations of civil liberty violations from residents and watchdog groups. Federal prosecutors are charging Castro with lying to investigators about the incident. According to NPR, the criminal case is still under seal but was confirmed by a person not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.

Castro initially claimed under oath that Sosa-Celis attacked him. However, surveillance footage contradicted his claim. Castro is separately facing state-level assault charges over the case in Minnesota. According to Al Jazeera, Judge Rodriguez wrote that he could not intervene because Governor Abbott has not yet acted – and has therefore not yet violated any law.

A federal grand jury returned a six-count indictment against Castro on Wednesday, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. He was taken into custody in Texas on Thursday and will make an initial court appearance Friday, a source said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Evans was investigating ICE officer Christian Castro over the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis earlier this year.

The Justice Department ultimately charged Castro with making false statements about the incident, but the indictment remains sealed. ProPublica reported that Evans told attorneys for the man who was shot and other victims to prepare for Castro to only be charged with making false statements, which would carry lesser penalties than criminal charges that he violated people's constitutional rights under color of law.

ProPublica quoted directly from an email it said Evans had sent to the attorneys. 'This is being directed by the Main Justice and the US Attorney,' the email from Evans reportedly said. 'I objected in the strongest possible terms and fought it as hard as I could. It wasn't enough.' Three sources told CBS News that Evans is under investigation by the Justice Department. Two sources said the investigation focuses on allegations of leaking.

The case revolves around a January incident involving Castro and Sosa-Celis, who officials say is in the U.S. illegally, during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area. After Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg, federal prosecutors charged him and one other man — Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna — with forcibly assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.

The federal government's description of the leadup to the shooting has shifted, and ICE later accused its agents of lying about the incident. Initially, the Department of Homeland Security said Sosa-Celis fled a traffic stop on foot, and when an ICE agent tried to arrest him, two other men attacked the agent with a shovel and a broomstick.

DHS said Sosa-Celis then broke free and started attacking the agent, too, leading the agent to fire a 'defensive shot to defend his life.' But an FBI affidavit filed in the criminal case against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna alleged Aljorna, not Sosa-Celis, was the one who fled a traffic stop. The affidavit said Sosa-Celis had initially struck the ICE agent with a broomstick while the agent tried to arrest Aljorna.

The agent described it as a three-minute-long tussle, according to the affidavit. Cellphone videos shared by a Democratic state senator showed a woman telling 911 her husband was chased by ICE agents before he reached his home and was shot in front of his family. A video later released by The New York Times showed the scrum involving Aljorna and Sosa-Celis lasted far less than three minutes.

A month after Aljorna and Sosa-Celis were charged, the Justice Department dropped the case and said 'newly discovered evidence' was 'materially inconsistent' with the allegations against them. Todd Lyons, who led ICE at the time, said a review of video evidence showed two ICE officers had made 'untruthful statements' in sworn testimony.

Lyons said the officers would be placed on administrative leave and could face prosecution. Castro, the ICE agent who shot Sosa-Celis, was charged in May on state charges of assault and falsely reporting a crime, and was arrested in Texas. But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to extradite him to Minnesota, prompting a legal battle that ended with a Texas jail releasing Castro last week.

Christian Castro, 52, is now in custody in Minnesota facing four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime. He was booked into the Hennepin County Jail around 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday and has not yet entered a plea. His bail was set at $200,000, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Castro pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges of lying to authorities about the shooting. According to The Hill, defense attorney Michael Wynn stated that Castro voluntarily went to Minneapolis to surrender himself and looks forward to litigating these matters and exonerating him.