An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been arrested in Texas following charges related to a shooting incident that unfolded during a controversial immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota earlier this year.
Christian Castro, 52, was apprehended this week after Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the arrest Friday. Castro faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime stemming from the January 14 incident.
According to prosecutors, Castro allegedly fired a weapon through the front door of a Minneapolis apartment duplex, striking Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the thigh. The shooting occurred after Castro and another officer pursued a different individual, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, to the residence where both men lived.
Legal Context and Controversy
Both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna were legally present in the United States through the federal Temporary Protected Status program, which extends protection to citizens of countries experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions. The Trump administration has targeted the program for elimination in certain cases.
Moriarty's office initially faced pushback from ICE, which characterized the charges as "unlawful and nothing more than a political stunt." However, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General—a separate watchdog entity—helped locate and apprehend Castro.
The case gained additional complexity when federal authorities initially accused both Sosa-Celis and Aljorna of assaulting officers with a broom handle and snow shovel during the confrontation. A federal judge later dismissed those charges, and ICE and the Justice Department launched a joint investigation into whether immigration officers misrepresented the incident.
"Today's arrest is a critical step forward in our prosecution of Mr. Castro," Moriarty stated. "The BCA's investigative work was instrumental in this process and we're grateful for their collaboration as we pursue accountability for this incident on behalf of Mr. Sosa-Celis, his family and our community."
Pattern of Concern
The arrest represents the second criminal charge filed by Moriarty's office against an ICE agent this year. Last month, ICE agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. was charged with pointing a gun at an occupied vehicle during a separate February incident.
The Sosa-Celis shooting occurred between two fatal incidents involving federal agents in Minnesota. Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by an ICE officer on January 7, while Alex Pretti, also 37, died after being struck multiple times by Customs and Border Patrol officers more than two weeks later. Both deaths sparked significant political controversy and criticism from Trump administration officials.
This story was adapted from reporting by CBC World.