Following the arrest of an ICE officer, Minnesota abandons its abduction complaint against Abbott.

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Officials in Minnesota dropped their petition against Governor on Thursday. A day after the arrest of the Minneapolis-based U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Greg Abbott ordered the abduction of Christian Castro.

The departure came at the end of a Minnesota-Texas dispute that came to court last month regarding the transfer of Castro, who is accused of injuring a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis earlier this year and lying about what caused the killing. Abbott argued that he had no denied extradition but that he was rather looking into whether Castro could be a fugitive because he didn’t leave Minnesota but was instead assigned to Texas by ICE.

Castro’s transfer from a Cameron County jail on August 27 was also not halted by the lawsuit.

On Wednesday afternoon in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced Castro’s arrest, who is facing independent state and federal fees related to the shooting. As per the law, Castro had to appear in a federal judge in Minnesota on September 18th.

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On Wednesday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s business, whose office is prosecuting Castro on the fees, welcomed the announcement of his arrest.

” Gov. Abbott’s campaign to defy responsibilities failed, according to Moriarty in a speech. We anticipate bringing our case to trial.

Attorney General of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, announced the dismissal of Abbott’s petition the following day.

He said during a press event,” I never should have had to report that petition and I hope I never will have to report another like it because we expect and pray for cooperation between the state, as the Constitution mandates,” he said. ” But of course, if we ever have to, we didn’t hesitate to use the rule of law to bring about justice for Minnesotans,” he said.

On Thursday, an Abbott spokesman, Andrew Mahaleris, claimed the governor was shielding people by using the Constitution, adding that Texas law enforcement made Castro’s arrest for federal charges easier.

He eventually compared Minnesota’s decision to file a petition to admit defeat.

” Governor Abbott upheld the Constitution. Minnesota attempted to sabotage the president’s power. Minnesota lost, according to a statement from a national prosecutor. Minnesota is now finally waving the” light flag” and reversing its own petition. Tim Walz is no Texas’s governor.

During Operation Metro Surge, Castro is accused of striking Julio Sosa-Celis in the foot while firing through the locked door of a Minneapolis home. According to court documents, the ICE official later claimed Sosa-Celis and another man had attacked him, but videos of the meeting disproved that claim.

On May 18, Castro was charged with four counts of abuse and one count of falsely reporting a crime by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The Texas Rangers assisted in his imprisonment later that month in Cameron County.

The governor of Minnesota sent an extradition request to Texas soon after, which is usually followed by rapid cooperation between the two says, but Abbott did not sign the required documents for months.

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Ellison filed a lawsuit against Abbott on August 18 as Castro was about to spend 90 days in prison. Under Texas law, individuals who are awaiting extradition can be held for more than 90 days, and Minnesota officials feared that if he was found not guilty, he would escape.

Abbott argued that he had” serious questions” about Castro’s eligibility as a fugitive and that he had not made an extradition request, and he had instructed Texas Secretary of State Robert Howden to conduct an investigation.

I have serious doubts that the conditions for repatriation have been met, the government wrote in a letter to Howden on July 31.” Based on publicly available information that indicates that Mr. Castro was compelled to return to Texas on orders of the federal government,” the governor wrote.

The analysis of the secretary of state is still pending. Mahaleris emailed Howden’s company, which did not respond to a request for comment right away.

Federal prosecutors charged the ICE official with just lying to authorities after Castro was released from a Texas prison, according to ProPublica.

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According to the Associated Press, Castro, who was released on bond on September 4, intends to enter a not-guilty plea and was ordered to make an appearance in court on Friday in Minnesota.

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The Texas Tribune

Sep 17, 2026Hill Country Post

Following the arrest of an ICE officer, Minnesota abandons its abduction complaint against Abbott.

Sarah Adler Hartman

CEO

The Texas Tribune

Hill Country Post

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