An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of shooting a Venezuelan man during President Donald Trump's expanded immigration crackdown in Minnesota has been arrested in Texas, marking the first known ICE agent arrest tied to the administration's current enforcement surge.
Christian J. Castro, 52, was taken into custody Friday morning after Hennepin County prosecutors issued a nationwide warrant for his arrest, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, as reported by the Minnesota Reformer. Castro was charged May 18 with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis.
The case has become one of the clearest tests yet of whether local prosecutors can hold federal immigration agents criminally accountable for actions taken during Trump's intensified deportation push. Castro is accused of firing a shot into an occupied home, striking Sosa-Celis in the leg. Prosecutors said several people, including children, were inside the residence when the bullet passed through the front door and interior walls before lodging in a bedroom wall.
The shooting happened during "Operation Metro Surge," a federal immigration enforcement campaign in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area that drew protests, lawsuits and sharp criticism from local officials. The operation was part of the Trump administration's broader effort to expand arrests and deportations, particularly in Democratic-led cities and states resisting federal immigration actions.
Federal officials initially said Sosa-Celis and others attacked agents with objects including a shovel and broom handle, prompting the officer to fire in self-defense. But prosecutors said video evidence contradicted key parts of that account. Federal charges against Sosa-Celis and another Venezuelan man were later dropped after prosecutors cited evidence that was inconsistent with the original allegations.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has said federal officers do not have blanket immunity from state criminal laws. Her office charged Castro after what prosecutors described as a review of video footage, physical evidence and witness statements. The case also includes a misdemeanor false-reporting charge, with prosecutors alleging Castro lied about the circumstances that led to the shooting.
ICE and federal officials have pushed back, calling the charges politically motivated. Reuters reported that an ICE spokesperson criticized the prosecution while also acknowledging that federal investigators were reviewing possible dishonesty by officers involved in the incident.
The arrest is highly unusual. While federal law enforcement officers have faced criminal charges in other contexts, this appears to be the first known arrest of an ICE agent connected to Trump's current immigration surge and one of the rare cases in which a local prosecutor has brought felony assault charges against a federal immigration officer for an on-duty shooting.
The Minnesota case unfolded after a series of violent encounters involving federal immigration agents. Earlier incidents during the same enforcement push included the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens, according to Reuters and local reports. Those cases remain under scrutiny and have added pressure on state officials to demand evidence from federal agencies.
Castro is expected to face legal proceedings in Texas before being returned to Minnesota. If convicted on the felony assault charges, he could face significant prison time.
For immigrant advocates and local officials, the arrest is being viewed as a rare break in the usual power dynamic between federal agents and the communities they police. For the Trump administration, it is now a politically explosive case at the center of its immigration crackdown: an ICE officer, not an immigrant, is the one in custody.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
