Federal Immigration Officer Arrested in Texas Over Minnesota Shooting

A federal immigration officer, Christian Castro, was arrested in Texas for his alleged involvement in the shooting of a Venezuelan man, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, during the Trump administration’s efforts in Minnesota. The arrest occurred 11 days after Minneapolis prosecutors charged Castro with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the nonfatal incident on January 14.

Hennepin County prosecutors identified Castro, 52, with the aid of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The Texas Rangers assisted in the arrest in Cameron County, near the Mexican border. However, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General clarified that its agents were not part of Castro’s apprehension, contrary to earlier claims by the Hennepin County Attorney’s office.

Prosecutors allege that Castro fired through a home’s front door, injuring Sosa-Celis in the thigh. This occurred after chasing Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna to the Minneapolis apartment duplex where both men lived. Both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were legally residing in the U.S. Initially, federal authorities had accused the men of attacking an officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel, but these charges were dismissed by a federal judge.

The U.S. attorney’s office is also investigating the officers’ statements, which might lead to their dismissal or prosecution. Meanwhile, ICE criticized the action taken by Hennepin County as unlawful and politically motivated. The Inspector General’s Office, credited with assisting in the arrest, functions independently of ICE.

Video footage released by Minneapolis shows a person with a snow shovel outside the residence. The person retreats and discards the shovel in the yard as someone pursued by another individual falls and then approaches the house. The footage does not clearly capture the moment Sosa-Celis was shot. Another person and a car with flashing lights appear shortly afterward.

During the national deportation campaign led by President Donald Trump, numerous officers were dispatched to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area under Operation Metro Surge. This campaign was deemed successful, but it led to tensions, especially after shootings by federal officers resulted in unrest.

Minnesota and the Trump administration have disagreed over the investigation and prosecution of federal officers’ actions. The Hennepin County Attorney’s office recently charged another immigration agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., with assault for allegedly threatening individuals with a firearm on a highway. The county is also reviewing the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, suing the Trump administration for access to evidence related to these incidents and the Sosa-Celis shooting.