ICE Agent Arrested in Texas for Minneapolis Shooting and False Reporting

Federal Agent Captured After Weeks-Long Search

A federal immigration officer charged with assault and lying to investigators has been arrested in Texas, marking a dramatic turn in a case that has exposed widespread misconduct during the Trump administration's Minneapolis enforcement operations. Christian Castro was charged earlier this month with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime, and was taken into custody 11 days after Minneapolis prosecutors charged him with assault and falsely reporting a crime in the Jan. 14 nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.

Hennepin County, Minnesota prosecutors said the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension located Castro, 52, in Texas, and the Texas Rangers said they assisted in the arrest in Cameron County, which borders Mexico in the southernmost part of the state. The arrest came without incident, bringing to a close an 11-day search for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who had been placed on administrative leave.

The Shooting That Sparked Federal Investigation

According to prosecutors, Castro fired through a home's front door and shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh after Castro and another officer chased a different man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, to the Minneapolis apartment duplex where he and Sosa-Celis lived. The incident occurred during Operation Metro Surge, a massive federal immigration enforcement operation that deployed thousands of agents to the Twin Cities area.

What makes this case particularly troubling is how the official narrative completely unraveled under scrutiny. Originally, Sosa-Celis and his cousin Alfredo A. Aljorna were facing federal charges after DHS said they had attacked an agent, prompting him to fire a defensive shot. But the Justice Department dropped the charges in February, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement said two of its agents, who made false statements about the incident under oath, were placed on administrative leave. Minneapolis last month released video showing the moments before Sosa-Celis's shooting, captured from a distance by a city-owned security camera. The video appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard.

Federal Pushback and Jurisdictional Disputes

The arrest has triggered a fierce jurisdictional battle between state and federal authorities. In a statement to CNN, a DHS spokesperson called Castro's arrest "unlawful" and a "political stunt," saying the agent's actions should be handled at the federal, not state level. ICE called the Hennepin County attorney's action "unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt."

Castro is the second federal agent to be charged over their conduct during the Minnesota crackdown, which was known as Operation Metro Surge. He is one of two agents that ICE Director Todd Lyons said lied about the circumstances of the incident. The case represents a broader pattern of accountability issues during the operation, which also saw Renée Good, a 33-year-old mother of three, fatally shot by an ICE agent on January 7, and Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, fatally shot by two DHS officers on January 24.

Implications for Federal Law Enforcement Accountability

Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were legally in the U.S., Moriarty said. This detail underscores questions about the targeting and treatment of individuals during immigration enforcement operations, even when they have legal status. The case has become a flashpoint in debates over federal versus state authority in prosecuting law enforcement misconduct.

The arrest signals that state prosecutors are willing to pursue charges against federal agents despite Department of Homeland Security objections. This precedent could reshape how misconduct cases involving federal immigration enforcement are handled, particularly as communities grapple with balancing immigration enforcement with constitutional protections. Castro now faces extradition to Minnesota, where he will confront charges that could result in significant prison time if convicted.