A Tail Of Two States

A Synopsis:

In the first state, an ICE agent shot a man and lied about it. ICE argues that agents have “absolute immunity” for their actions on duty and then spirits the agent away to another state.

The first state indicts the agent for assault and falsely reporting a crime and sends an extradition order to the state where ICE shipped him. That state says, “We will think about it,” and releases the agent from custody.

So that is where we are now: The ICE agent is somewhere, maybe even in Mexico.

ICE officer’s release from Texas jail opens a new front in the escalating fight over extradition

AP News

By MICHAEL GONZALEZ, VALERIE GONZALEZ and SUDHIN THANAWALA

August 27, 2026

The release of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer from a Texas jail on Thursday despite Minnesota’s request for his return could set a dangerous precedent, increasing friction between states and helping criminal defendants avoid justice, legal experts said.

Christian Castro was released from a detention center in Brownsville after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to immediately sign his extradition warrant. A federal judge also declined to block Castro’s release or order Abbott to sign the warrant.

Minnesota officials say they believe Castro could flee to Mexico to avoid prosecution on charges he shot a man and lied about it during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis in January. Extradition from Mexico would require action by the Trump administration, which opened an investigation into Castro’s actions but also has argued ICE agents have “absolute immunity” for their actions on duty.

And no way in hell will Trump extradite him!

But this goes way beyond this case. Texas and other Republican states have been trying to get health care records on women having abortions and children going to trans clinics in other states. Some see this as tit for tat.

The decision is alarming because it injects politics into the extradition process, said Marsh Halberg, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor in Minnesota.

“Something that’s been a routine process may now turn into a political card,” he said in a phone interview.

In recent months, California and New York have rejected extradition requests from Louisiana for doctors accused of mailing abortion pills.

But legal scholars say those cases are different because the doctors weren’t in Louisiana and never fled the state and became fugitives.

Is Texas looking the other way in a case of perjury and attempted murder because of the denial of a witch-hunt for medical records?

But it gets even more convoluted… the feds jump in!

Judge denies Minnesota's request to halt release of ICE officer charged in Minneapolis shooting

CBS News

By Aki Nace, Stephen Swanson

August 26, 2026

A federal judge on Wednesday denied Minnesota's request for a temporary restraining order to halt the release of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent sought for extradition in a shooting earlier this year in north Minneapolis amid Operation Metro Surge, and then lying about the circumstances under oath.

[…]

In U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr.'s 13-page ruling, he denied Minnesota's request because the "matter does not present an issue ripe for adjudication," saying Minnesota's case is based on claims that Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has violated the Extradition Act by refusing to sign Castro's rendition warrant.

"The record reflects only that Governor Abbott has neither agreed nor refused to sign the rendition warrant as to Castro. Instead, Governor Abbott has requested that the Texas Secretary of State 'investigate [Minnesota's] demand and report to [the Governor] concerning Mr. Castro's situation and circumstances and whether he ought to be surrendered,'" Rodriguez wrote in his ruling.

So that’s where we are now… in limbo.