Gov. Greg Abbott says Minnesota officials demanding the extradition of an ICE agent held in Texas have some explaining to do first.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to force Abbott to approve the extradition of Christian Castro, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent facing charges stemming from a January shooting in Minneapolis.
Asked about the lawsuit during a press conference Tuesday, Abbott took aim at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“Well, first of all, I don’t trust Tim Walz on anything, let alone something like this,” said Abbott.
“While they’re making demands, I got a demand on my own, and that is, it’s time for Minnesota to step up and repay the United States of America and Americans for all the fraud that they’ve committed in their state under federal programs,” he added.
“And I will not respond to them at all until they step up and do what’s right, and they acknowledge their fault in the fraud that took place, and they fully repay the United States of America for the fraud they committed.”
Castro has been held in the Cameron County jail since his arrest by Texas Rangers in late May. He faces four felony counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the January 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
Minnesota officials say Castro could be released as early as next week if Abbott does not approve the extradition request.
Ellison’s lawsuit asks a federal judge to order Abbott to sign the warrant and prevent Castro’s release while the dispute continues.
