Judge in the abduction case in Minnesota" not inclined" to keep an ICE agent in Texas.

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A federal judge made the suggestion during a Tuesday hearing that an immigration officer could be released from a South Texas prison later this week despite Minnesota’s attempts to surrender the person to face criminal charges related to a January shooting.

Gov. in Minnesota sued last week to compel him. Greg Abbott to sign papers allowing Minnesota to return Christian Castro, an immigration and customs police officer who was detained on May 29 on four counts of assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime,

Texas’s extradition request deadline is 90 days. That deadline is Thursday for Castro, who has been in jail since his arrest.

According to Minnesota officials, U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. requested an order limiting Castro’s sentence while extradition efforts continued, arguing that he posed a flight risk if released.

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The judge said at an hour-long hearing Tuesday in Brownsville that he was” not inclined” to let the Cameron County sheriff hold Castro in custody after Thursday, adding that a written order might be issued on Wednesday.

In May, Texas Rangers assisted Castro in his arrest after a Minnesota court issued a warrant for him to be charged with assault after he shot at a Venezuelan man in the leg through the door of a house. He was also accused of fabricating a claim that the man had used a shovel and broom to attack him. According to court documents, Castro’s account was in opposition to the incident’s footage.

Abbott has not yet agreed to send Castro to a foreign country. Instead, the governor mandated that the Texas secretary of state look into Castro’s potential fugitive status.

According to state officials, that query is brought on by rumors that Castro was resented by ICE to Texas rather than Minnesota.

Attorneys for Minnesota argued during Tuesday’s hearing that the case involving Castro’s fugitive status in Texas was unimportant and that the case has no legal justification.

They also argued that Abbott has a duty to release Castro for extradition under the Constitution’s Extradition Clause, which, according to them, is intended to stop any state from acting as a refuge for fugitives from another state.

According to Texas ‘ attorneys, the U.S. Supreme Court established that a governor has the authority to determine whether a person qualifies as a fugitive from justice. They reported that Rodriguez is working closely with the state to determine that.

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Lawyers for Abbott claimed in a court brief that Castro’s release would” no effect on the Governor’s ability to issue a warrant to extradite.”

According to them,” The ninety-day period limits pre-warrant detention, and it does not impose a ninety-day deadline on the Governor to approve or deny the demanding State’s request.”

Rodriguez questioned whether he had the authority to set a deadline for Texas officials to conduct their investigation at Tuesday’s hearing.

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The Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. ( MST ) supports reporting in the Rio Grande Valley.

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Aug 25, 2026Hill Country Post

Judge in the abduction case in Minnesota” not inclined” to keep an ICE agent in Texas.

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