A new legal showdown is unfolding between Minnesota and Texas.
The Minnesota attorney general is suing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in an effort to force him to extradite an ICE agent to Minnesota to stand trial.
The agent, Christian Castro, is accused of shooting into a Minnesota home during an ICE operation in January and striking someone in the leg.
RELATED STORY | Second ICE officer faces charges tied to Minnesota immigration crackdown
Castro was charged in May on four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime.
He was arrested in Texas, where he remains in custody, about 10 days after he was charged.
In June, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sent a request to Abbott asking him to sign documents that would facilitate Castro's extradition from Texas to Minnesota. However, the extradition request has not been honored.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison believes Abbott is intentionally holding up the case.
"Governor Abbott should have granted Governor Walz's extradition request long ago and is required to do so now," Ellison said. "I should never have to file this lawsuit, but I have done so today to protect the Constitution, the rule of law, Minnesota's rights, and the people of the state of Minnesota, and of course, the fair administration of justice."
Minnesota officials are concerned that Castro could be released after 90 days if he is not extradited. They say he has ties to Mexico and is a flight risk.
Scripps News reached out to Abbott's office for comment about the case and was told it would not comment on pending extradition matters.
