Federal prosecutors charge ICE officer with lying about shooting of Venezuelan man in Minnesota
Quick Look
- Federal prosecutors have charged ICE officer Christian Castro with lying to investigators about the January shooting of Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge.
- Castro fired through a closed door, hitting Sosa-Celis in the leg, and initially claimed self-defense under oath, but surveillance footage contradicted his account.
- The Justice Department dropped assault charges against Sosa-Celis after acknowledging officers' untruthful statements.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The incident occurred during Operation Metro Surge, a broad immigration crackdown in Minnesota conducted by ICE officers in January. Federal prosecutors are charging ICE officer Christian Castro with lying to investigators about shooting Venezuelan immigrant Julio Sosa-Celis in the leg through a closed door. Castro initially claimed self-defense under oath, but surveillance footage contradicted his account. The Justice Department initially charged Sosa-Celis with assault but dropped the charges after acknowledging officers made untruthful statements.
Federal prosecutors are charging an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for lying to investigators about a shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minnesota earlier this year.
The criminal case is still under seal but was confirmed by a person not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation.
The charges represent a rare moment of the Justice Department seeking to hold immigration officers accountable for their actions and tactics while conducting arrests.
Christian Castro, the ICE officer, was in north Minneapolis in January as part of a broad immigration crackdown in the state known as Operation Metro Surge. Authorities say he fired his weapon through a closed door and shot Julio Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant, in the leg.
The Justice Department initially charged Sosa-Celis with assault, but later dropped the charges after acknowledging that the officers involved had made untruthful statements about the incident.
Immigration enforcement officers faced widespread bipartisan criticism for their behavior during that immigration surge, including the killings of two U.S. citizens.
Castro initially claimed under oath that Sosa-Celis attacked him, but surveillance footage contradicted his claim. Castro is separately facing state-level assault charges over the case in Minnesota.
The Hennepin County attorney had sought to extradite him from Texas to Minnesota to face the charges, but a federal judge in Texas last week ruled against Minnesota's request to keep Castro in jail, pending his extradition.
Immigration enforcement officers faced widespread bipartisan criticism for their behavior during that immigration surge, including the killings of two U.S. citizens, as well as other violent incidents since then.
Federal immigration officers have been involved in over two dozen shootings under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
In the latest incidents, ICE came under fire in July after the deadly shooting of two immigrants, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Christian Castro will face trial on federal charges of lying to investigators
Likely · Within months
Hennepin County will appeal the Texas federal judge's ruling blocking Castro's extradition
Possible · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What specific charges will Christian Castro face in federal court?
- Will the Texas federal judge's ruling be appealed by Hennepin County?
- Are there additional officers under investigation for misconduct during Operation Metro Surge?
- What disciplinary actions, if any, has ICE taken against Christian Castro?
