ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) 鈥� Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Tuesday, seeking to compel the extradition of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent to stand trial for assault and falsely reporting a crime in the wounding of a man during the agency’s crackdown in Minneapolis.
Ellison said he would request a temporary restraining order barring the Cameron County Sheriff鈥檚 Office in Texas from releasing ICE agent Christian Castro and requiring Abbott to sign the extradition warrant allowing Minnesota law enforcement agents to take custody of him.
11 days after Minneapolis prosecutors and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. The criminal complaint alleges that Castro fired a gun at the front door of a home in Minneapolis, striking a victim in the leg before lodging in a child鈥檚 bedroom wall, and then knowingly provided false information to an officer about it.
Ellison said at a news conference that unless he’s extradited, Castro faces release from jail next week — 90 days since he was detained — under Texas law, and could flee the U.S. from the border town where he’s being held.
鈥淐hristian Castro has been charged with breaking the law in Minnesota,鈥� Ellison said. 鈥淗e must face justice in Minnesota. Gov. Abbott should have granted Gov. Walz鈥檚 extradition request long ago and is required to do so now.鈥�
鈥淐hristian Castro is not above the law and Greg Abbott isn鈥檛 either,鈥� Ellison added.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the legal action taken Tuesday to compel Castro鈥檚 extradition 鈥渟hould be a completely unnecessary lawsuit.鈥� Officials at the jail and local prosecutors in Texas have been 鈥渧ery cooperative,鈥� she said 鈥� “it is not supposed to be controversial.”
She said that since Castro鈥檚 arrest, Texas has extradited three unrelated criminal defendants without incident to Minnesota at the request of state authorities.
Gov. Abbott has received communication with us on an ongoing basis, including recently,鈥� Ellison said. 鈥淲e have to take the position that they are refusing to honor the extradition request.鈥�
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