Overview
- Hennepin County prosecutors announced that ICE agent Christian Castro was arrested Friday in Harlingen, Texas, and is in custody pending transfer to Minnesota.
- Castro was charged earlier this month with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of filing a false report related to a January shot fired through a Minneapolis front door.
- Prosecutors say Minneapolis police surveillance video contradicted agents’ statements, which led the Justice Department to withdraw federal charges against two Venezuelan residents in February.
- The arrest involved coordination by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the DHS Office of Inspector General, and the Texas Rangers while ICE placed agents on administrative leave and criticized the county prosecution.
- The shooting occurred during an intensified federal enforcement operation in the Twin Cities called Operation Metro Surge, and the case could influence questions about agent accountability, departmental oversight, and interjurisdictional legal disputes.