Key Takeaways
- ICE agent Christian Castro, 52, was arrested in Texas on charges stemming from a Jan. 14 shooting in Minneapolis.
- He faces four counts of second‑degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime after investigators allege he fired through a home’s front door, striking a leg and lodging a bullet in a child’s bedroom wall.
- The shooting occurred during Operation Metro Surge, a large‑scale ICE immigration enforcement effort in the Minneapolis‑St. Paul area.
- Federal charges against the two Venezuelan men present at the scene (Julio Cesar Sosa‑Celis and Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna) were later dismissed, prompting an investigation into whether ICE officers lied under oath.
- Castro is the second federal agent charged in connection with Operation Metro Surge; both officers have been placed on administrative leave pending internal review.
- The incident, along with the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers during the same operation, sparked protests and renewed scrutiny of ICE conduct.
On Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Christian Castro, 52, was taken into custody in Texas pursuant to a warrant issued earlier this month by Hennepin County prosecutors. The arrest followed a joint operation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General agents, and Texas Rangers, with BCA investigators also present at the scene. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty called the apprehension a “critical step forward” in the prosecution of Castro.
The charges stem from an incident on January 14 in Minneapolis during an ICE enforcement sweep targeting Julio Cesar Sosa‑Celis, a Venezuelan national whom authorities say entered the United States illegally in August 2022. According to Homeland Security officials, Sosa‑Celis fled a traffic stop and ran into a residence. Investigators allege that Castro, without confirming who was inside, discharged his weapon through the home’s front door. The bullet traversed the door, struck one individual in the leg, and ultimately lodged in the wall of a child’s bedroom.
In the aftermath, federal authorities initially accused both Sosa‑Celis and another Venezuelan man present at the scene, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, of assaulting an officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel during the confrontation. Those accusations led to federal charges against the two men. However, a federal judge later dismissed those charges after reviewing the evidence, which included video footage that failed to corroborate the officers’ claim of being assaulted with a broom or shovel. The dismissal prompted prosecutors to examine whether the ICE officers involved had provided false testimony under oath.
Court proceedings revealed significant discrepancies between the officers’ version of events and the testimony of the two defendants, as well as three eyewitnesses. The lack of supporting video evidence for the alleged broom‑and‑shovel assault further undermined the officers’ account. Consequently, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged Castro with four counts of second‑degree assault (related to the shooting and its aftermath) and one count of falsely reporting a crime (allegedly lying about the circumstances that led to the discharge of his firearm).
Castro is the second federal agent to be charged for conduct linked to Operation Metro Surge, the Department of Homeland Security’s described “largest immigration operation to date” in the Minneapolis‑St. Paul metropolitan area. Following the allegations, ICE Director Todd Lyons announced that both officers implicated in the incident have been placed on administrative leave while a thorough internal investigation is completed. Lyons emphasized that lying under oath constitutes a serious federal offense.
The Jan. 14 shooting occurred amid a tense, weeks‑long enforcement campaign that also saw the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers. Those fatalities triggered widespread protests and intensified public scrutiny of ICE tactics and accountability measures. The arrest of Castro, coupled with the ongoing investigations into officer conduct, underscores the growing demand for transparency and oversight within federal immigration enforcement operations.