An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with making false statements to investigators about a shooting during a large-scale immigration operation in Minneapolis has surrendered to federal authorities, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Christian Castro was taken into federal custody on Thursday over allegations that he lied about the events surrounding the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man, in January. The federal charges come after Castro was released from jail last week when Texas Governor Greg Abbott declined to immediately sign an extradition warrant sought by Minnesota authorities.
Minnesota has separately charged Castro with assault and false reporting of a crime in connection with the same shooting. No attorney is currently listed for Castro in the Minnesota case, and it was not immediately clear whether he has legal representation able to comment.
According to Minnesota prosecutors, Castro and another officer had chased a man, identified as Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, to a Minneapolis apartment duplex where Aljorna lived alongside Sosa-Celis. Prosecutors allege that Castro then falsely claimed Sosa-Celis and another man had attacked an ICE officer using a broom handle and a snow shovel. Minnesota officials say Castro fired through the front door of the property, striking Sosa-Celis in the thigh.
Federal prosecutors initially brought charges against Sosa-Celis and the other man based on the officers' account of the confrontation. Those charges were later dropped after video evidence emerged that appeared to contradict the officers' version of events, prompting federal officials to open an investigation into the incident.
Castro is the first federal immigration officer to face prosecution by the Trump administration over conduct during Operation Metro Surge, the large-scale immigration enforcement effort launched in the Minneapolis and St Paul area in January 2026. The operation, which involved thousands of officers, was described as the Department of Homeland Security's largest immigration enforcement action to date. It drew significant criticism after the shooting deaths of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal officers, which prompted changes to how the operation was conducted.
Castro was suspended from ICE without pay in February while the federal investigation was ongoing. At the time, ICE's then acting director, Todd Lyons, said officers were "entrusted with upholding the rule of law" and were "held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct," adding that violations of that duty would "not be tolerated."
The case has taken a complicated legal path. Castro was first arrested in May in connection with the Minnesota charges and held in custody in Brownsville, Texas, near the border with Mexico, while state officials sought his extradition. Governor Abbott refused to sign the extradition order immediately, citing ongoing investigations into alleged fraud in Minnesota's government social service programmes, which have previously been cited by the Trump administration to justify its immigration enforcement activity in the state.
Minnesota officials had sought to prevent the sheriff in Cameron County, Texas, from releasing Castro, citing concern that he might flee to Mexico. A lawsuit filed by Minnesota alleged that Castro had discussed, in a conversation while incarcerated, plans to marry a woman and buy a house in Mexico following his release. Despite this, a federal judge declined to order Texas to extradite him, and Castro was released roughly a week before turning himself in to federal authorities.
The Department of Homeland Security has previously described Minnesota's prosecution of Castro as "unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt," arguing that only federal authorities hold jurisdiction over the case.
Separately, ProPublica reported this week that a federal prosecutor working on the case, Matthew Evans, told lawyers representing Sosa-Celis and other alleged victims that Justice Department officials had blocked efforts to bring a more serious civil rights charge against Castro over the shooting. However, the person familiar with the investigation disputed this characterisation, telling the AP that the civil rights investigation remains ongoing and that no final decision has been made on further charges. According to the same source, Evans has since been fired and is under investigation over alleged obstruction of a grand jury inquiry. An automatic email response from Evans' Justice Department account indicated he was on leave, and further attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
Robin Wolpert, an attorney representing Sosa-Celis, said the Justice Department had "grossly undercharged this case," alleging that Castro's statements were made "to cover up the fact that he shot my client through the door of an occupied house without a self-defense justification." Wolpert said Sosa-Celis wants Castro "to be held fully accountable for his crimes."
The American Liberties Union of Minnesota said on Thursday that Sosa-Celis also intends to pursue a damages claim against the federal government over the incident.
