An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has been arrested in Texas after prosecutors accused him of shooting a Venezuelan man and falsely reporting what happened during a major immigration operation in Minnesota.
Christian Castro, a 52-year-old federal immigration officer, was taken into custody Friday, 11 days after prosecutors in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States charged him with assault and falsely reporting a crime.
The charges stem from the January 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge immigration crackdown.
Authorities said the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension located Castro in Texas and coordinated with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General and Texas Rangers to arrest him.
“Today’s arrest is a critical step forward in our prosecution of Mr. Castro,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said.
Castro is now the second federal agent to face criminal charges connected to actions taken during Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale immigration enforcement effort carried out in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
According to prosecutors, Castro and another officer were pursuing another man, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, when the chase reached a Minneapolis apartment duplex where Aljorna and Sosa-Celis lived.
Investigators allege Castro fired through the front door of the home, striking Sosa-Celis in the thigh.
Moriarty said both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were legally in the United States at the time of the incident.
Federal authorities initially accused the two men of attacking an officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel.
However, a federal judge later dismissed those charges, and federal investigators opened a review into whether officers provided false statements about the encounter.
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement previously said the U.S. attorney’s office was reviewing statements made by agents involved in the incident.
The agency said officers could face discipline, termination or prosecution if wrongdoing was discovered.
However, ICE also criticized the charges brought by Hennepin County prosecutors, calling the move “unlawful” and describing it as a political action.
Video released by Minneapolis officials showed portions of the moments leading up to the shooting.
The footage reportedly showed a person holding a snow shovel outside the residence before tossing it away and moving toward the house as another person ran toward the area.
A struggle appeared to happen near the front steps, though the exact moment Sosa-Celis was shot was not clearly visible.
The case has intensified the dispute between Minnesota officials and the Trump administration over how federal immigration officers should be investigated when allegations arise from actions taken while on duty.
Operation Metro Surge involved thousands of federal officers deployed to Minnesota as part of President Trump’s broader immigration enforcement agenda, per the Associated Press.
The administration described the effort as successful, but critics raised concerns following several controversial incidents.
Another immigration agent, Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., was also charged by Hennepin County prosecutors after allegedly pointing a firearm at people inside a vehicle on a highway.
His attorney has disputed the allegations.
Minnesota officials are continuing additional investigations connected to federal enforcement actions, including separate cases involving the deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
