Minnesota leaders on Tuesday sued Gov. Greg Abbott to force the extradition of a federal immigration officer who is accused of injuring a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis earlier this year and lying about the circumstance leading up to the shooting.
The lawsuit came nearly a week after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sent a letter asking Abbott to sign a legal document for the extradition of Christian Castro, charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting.
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The Texas Department of Public Safety helped arrest Castro in Cameron County in late May, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sent his Texas counterpart the extradition request four days later.
If Abbott did not sign by Monday afternoon, Ellison wrote, he would “have no choice” but to bring a legal action.
In the subsequent lawsuit, the Minnesota attorney general also called the Texas governor’s decision to not sign the paperwork “unusual and inconsistent with historical practice” — including under Abbott’s current term.
“Abbott’s refusal to extradite Castro is unconstitutional and violates federal law and Texas law,” Ellison said in a Tuesday statement. “I will not stand for that, so I’m taking Abbott to court.”
Abbott’s office declined to comment on “pending extradition matters.”
The lawsuit also named Cameron County Sheriff Manuel Trevino as a defendant, as it seeks to prevent the South Texas sheriff’s office from releasing Castro until he is turned over to Minnesota’s custody. Trevino didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.
“This is not about politics,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “It is about the law.”
This is a developing story.