A suspended officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement faces federal prosecution over false statements concerning the shooting of a Venezuelan migrant in Minneapolis, American media reported on Thursday.
Cristian Castro, 52, was indicted by federal prosecutors after state authorities in Minnesota had already charged him with assault and perjury for his role in the January incident. Minnesota law enforcement had previously issued a nationwide arrest warrant for the officer.
The federal indictment against Castro for making false statements has not yet been made public, according to media outlets citing sources familiar with the matter. Criminal indictments brought by the administration of President Donald Trump against ICE agents are considered extremely rare.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, is the federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing federal immigration laws and carrying out deportations. Minneapolis is the largest city in the northern state of Minnesota.
State Extradition Dispute
Castro currently resides in Texas, where Republican state officials have refused to surrender him to authorities in Minnesota, a state governed by Democrats. Interstate extradition requires cooperation between state executives to transfer individuals accused of crimes across state lines.
Following his arrest in Texas, Castro was held in custody for 90 days until a judge ordered his release last week. The refusal by Texas officials to extradite Castro created a legal stalemate between the two states, effectively stalling state-level proceedings in Minnesota.
Internal legal discussions also revealed friction within the federal government over the scope of the charges against Castro. A federal prosecutor based in Minnesota sought to charge Castro with violating fundamental civil rights, an offense that carries significantly heavier criminal penalties than making false statements.
However, officials at the Department of Justice in Washington rejected the local prosecutor's attempt to add fundamental rights charges, according to internal email exchanges reported by the investigative news website ProPublica. The U.S. Department of Justice oversees all federal prosecutions and maintains ultimate authority over federal charge filings across all districts.
The Minneapolis Shooting Incident
The charges against Castro stem from an enforcement action on January 14 in Minneapolis. ICE Director Todd Lyons announced in February that Castro and another agent were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an in-depth internal investigation.
Lyons stated that the two officers lied to their agency while under oath when giving testimony about the circumstances of the shooting. The confrontation resulted in an alleged irregular migrant from Venezuela being shot in the leg.
On the day of the incident, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that a pursued migrant was attempting to escape an ICE agent when two individuals exited a nearby apartment and attacked the officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle.
The Department of Homeland Security reported at the time that the officer fired a single shot in self-defense to protect his life, striking the migrant.
That initial account collapsed after security camera footage surfaced that directly contradicted the narrative provided by the officers. Following the review of the video evidence, prosecutors dropped all criminal charges against the Venezuelan migrants involved in the encounter.
Operation Metro Surge
The shooting took place during Operation Metro Surge, a high-profile federal immigration enforcement action ordered by the Trump administration in Minneapolis.
The operation was launched in late December and concluded in mid-February. Federal authorities reported that the surge resulted in the arrests of 4,000 illegal aliens across the Minneapolis metropolitan area.
Operation Metro Surge was marked by intense local resistance and deadly force. Two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal agents while participating in demonstrations against the immigration sweeps.
