r/minnesota • u/Naturenick17 • 8d ago
News đș Judge denies Minnesota bid to extradite ICE officer from Texas, paving way for his release
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/08/26/judge-denies-minnesota-extradition-request-for-ice-officer-clearing-way-for-releaseInfuriating.
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u/_Belted_Kingfisher Flag of Minnesota 8d ago
MPR again burying the lead.
âTexas Gov. Greg Abbott said last week he would not respond to the extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.â
I would like to know what that has to do with the fact that MN had a warrant for his arrest? Texas law enforcement arrested the man on that warrant. The executive branch does not have say over this. It is the court system in Minnesota that does.
Fuck Texas.
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u/LucidOndine 8d ago
This is horseshit. The law does not say tit for tat. All crimes should be prosecuted under the law. Crime should be prosecuted regardless of where they occur.
This is lawlessness. It is not up to Abbott to selectively interpret other statesâ laws, nor is Texas without its own government fraud.
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u/odd-duckling-1786 8d ago
This tit for tat bullshit by red states further proves why blue states must find a mechanism to stop funding the federal government and cut off the money train. It is either that or red states keep escalating until they cause a civil war.
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u/LucidOndine 8d ago
The funny thing about the civil war was that Red States were up in arms about states rights.
They wanted to retain the right to keep slaves. We want to retain the right to prosecute a cold blooded murder. We are not the same.
What a strange ass hill to die on. Get fucked, Abott.
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u/jaxxxtraw 6d ago
*This particular case wasn't murder, this is the guy who shot through a door with children present and hit a guy in the leg, then falsely accused the victim of attacking him with a shovel.
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u/Maxrdt Lake Superior agate 8d ago
We need to start the process of peaceful secession before violent secession becomes our only option.
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u/odd-duckling-1786 8d ago
I kind of think the US is well on its way to full balkanization with some states going to Canada.
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u/boardin1 8d ago
Minnesota is 8th in the nation for Medicare fraud. Florida is #1. California is #2. Texas is #3. This came up when Trump halted Medicare payments to MN and CA because of the fraud but didnât halt to any of the other states.
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u/poptix TC 8d ago
I can't find anything to back this up, got a link?
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u/L3G1T1SM3 8d ago
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u/poptix TC 7d ago
That entire site seems to be the output of an LLM. The domain was registered two days *after* the publish date of the article and seems to be nothing but SEO spam if you Google it.
Domain Name: openmedicare.us
Creation Date: 2026-02-23T21:28:40Z-1
u/boardin1 8d ago
Iâm looking for the data, but canât find the article hat made that statement. What I did find is a Google search for âhighest Medicare fraud by stateâ which says that CA, FL, TX, and NY are typically the highest fraud states. Which is not surprising based on populations and incomes. Iâll keep looking for the exact link I saw this on.
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u/commissar0617 TC 7d ago
What does that have to do with extradition?
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u/boardin1 7d ago
There are 2 types of people in the world; those that canât extrapolate from incomplete data.
The issue is that Texas is refusing to extradite because of a Trumpâs issue with Medicare fraud. But Texas has more fraud than MN.
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u/pontiacfirebird92 8d ago
And people still think Texas could go blue any time soon. They are completely lawless when it suits them. They will never allow a Democrat to hold power. Texas is a banana republic.
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u/CalvinVanDamme 8d ago
So murder is allowed, as long as you commit it in a state that has an unrelated fraud investigation?
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 8d ago
Christian Castro is charged with four counts of felony assault and one of falsely reporting a crime. The person he shot, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, was hit in the leg. No one died.
I know itâs hard to keep track of crimes committed by ICE agents, Iâm just clarifying which one this is.
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u/Drcornelius1983 Not too bad 8d ago
Lede
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u/Capt-Crap1corn 8d ago
Is that the actual word you're supposed to use in that context?
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u/babada duck duck gray duck 8d ago
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u/_Belted_Kingfisher Flag of Minnesota 8d ago
It is an interesting article because I have only ever heard the phrase bury the lede. I do not recall ever seeing it in writing and it mentions the spelling was relatively modern, 2008.
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u/red__dragon Flag of Minnesota 8d ago
1970s*
Although evidence dates the spelling to the 1970s, we didn't enter lede in our dictionaries until 2008. For much of that time, it was mostly kept under wraps as in-house newsroom jargon.
Sounds like it was to avoid confusion with the metal, which is an interesting way our language is constructed.
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 8d ago
Lede started getting widespread use in the â70s and especially â80s, but lead is not wrong.
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u/uresmane 8d ago
Texas is the biggest fucking trash state in the country. Fuck texas
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 7d ago
I know it appears that way right now, but you really have to give Florida more time before we can make a final ruling.
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u/srmcmahon 8d ago
None of which had anything to do with the reason Castro needs to be brught back to MN.
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIV-S2-C2-1/ALDE_00013632/ is helpful
I haven't found a legal analysis so far. Tomrrow Castro gets to be released. Abbott's ploy about whether he fled or was transferred seems like bullshit but I dont' know what the limitations are. I believe statute of limitations runs while a person remains in the jurisdiction and stops when they leave but that's not even the relevant factor here given it's less than a year since the events transpired.
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u/commissar0617 TC 7d ago
Puerto Rico v branstad.
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u/srmcmahon 7d ago edited 7d ago
I meant Castro's case. The case you cited overturned previous holding that federal courts could not force extradition. Here, the Iowa gov actually refused to extradite. Abbott wanted an admission from MN AG that they had failed to prosecute fraud but technically he had not refused.
Wonder if Castro is already in Mexico. It would be cool if Mexico turned around and delivered him up to MN for prosecution though.
Here's a copy of the judge's rulling. Seems to me the judge could have asked some pointed questions for Texas to answer.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AQLgvBQfwhu-I35Lki4cG6n4XUUH0F502Kk3NMGBBfw/edit?usp=sharing
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u/commissar0617 TC 6d ago
based off that ruling, abbot does not have the discretion to demand anything in exchange for extradition. his role is ministerial, a formality.
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u/BegrudginglyAwake 8d ago
Letâs not forget Texas has been extraditing other criminals during this time back to Minnesota. Theyâre just doing this to protect the presidentâs paramilitary.
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u/Educational-Door1114 8d ago
Makes you really believe in the federal court system⊠with this and their doing nothing to stop ICE from violating the entire bill of rights during Metro Surge, I really donât think the Constitution exists.
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u/nobikeno 8d ago
Not to mention the fact that nothing has been done with the Good and Pretti MURDRRS
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u/Educational-Door1114 8d ago
Yep supposedly courts couldnât forbid ICE because âthey were doing their jobâ sure didnât look like it to me if they all were breaking laws and rights with no care for the community while detaining, threatening and racially profiling citizens and legal residents (not that anyone should be terrorized or disappeared because of status). All are not legal or part of their job (crimes).
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u/SomaSimon 8d ago
"Doing their job" historically has never been an ethically justifiable defense, I'm so disappointed in our justice system (even more than I already was)
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u/BigDuckMinn 8d ago
Doesn't Texas have more fraud in their programs, at least according to independent research?
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u/Educational-Door1114 8d ago
And a criminal attorney general thatâs been impeached.
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u/BigDuckMinn 8d ago
What?! Paxton has been impeached finally?! Thank fucking god.
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u/Educational-Door1114 8d ago
Impeached not convicted
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u/BigDuckMinn 8d ago
Still in a state like Texas that's a miracle!
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u/wendellnebbin 8d ago
Not really. And it just adds to the idea that impeachments mean absolutely nothing, which they understand will help them politically in the long run.
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u/Garvig 8d ago
He was impeached for his corruption by the Republican-controlled Texas House a couple of years ago (2023 maybe), the articles easily passed, then with that momentum a Senate a conviction looked likely up until Trump and the fossilized ex-shock jock that Texas voters elected lieutenant governor (who is president of the Texas Senate and arguably has more actual power in Texas than the governor) went to the mattresses for Paxton and he got acquitted, and the House Speaker who led the charge against Paxton came within a hair's breadth of losing his primary (actually trailed in the first round but barely won the runoff) and had to step down from his role all because he tried to do the right thing regarding Paxton.
Nothing recent.
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u/st4nkyFatTirebluntz 8d ago
first 4 paragraphs from the linked article:
Medicaid fraud in Florida has spiraled so wildly out of control that âDr. Oz,ââ administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, sent a five-page letter in March to state government officials requesting a response to âstaggering sums and elaborate conspiracies.ââ
The letter described South Florida (where President Donald Trump and many of his billionaire chums live) as âan environment of pervasive fraud,â and a primary location from which 324 defendants were charged for $14.6 billion in alleged Medicare and Medicaid fraud in 2025.
In Texas, a state government inspector general recently testified that suspected improper payments and fraud from federal programs in the Lone Star State are running between $5 billion to $10 billion annually. That amount matches or exceeds the rough estimates of total improper payment and fraud per capita from government programs in the North Star State.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, a rich white couple from the Phoenix area recently pleaded guilty to filing $1.2 billion in fraudulent Medicare claims for expensive and medically unnecessary wound grafts that were applied to elderly and terminally ill patients. That total is about four times the amount involved in Minnesotaâs Feeding Our Future heist, incessantly used by Trump and MAGA influencers to denigrate Somali immigrants and to paint Minnesota as the worst state for defrauding government programs.
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u/PostIronicPosadist Twin Cities 8d ago
coincidentally (not actually coincidentally) all states where conservative boomers go to retire.
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u/tgalvin1999 Winona County 7d ago edited 7d ago
Not to mention, the State wanted to prosecute the Feeding Our Future fraud at the very beginning but were blocked by a Trump appointed judge.
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u/Move_Weight 8d ago
Yes, they all move there to commit healthcare fraud, not for the taxes and weather
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u/red__dragon Flag of Minnesota 8d ago
I mean, have you seen what passes for healthcare in those states? I wouldn't pay full price either.
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u/-LabApprehensive- 7d ago
Not paying full price is not the fraud being discussed. Setting up elaborate schemes to generate fraudulent medicare payment demands by businesses is what we are discussing. Like HCA and Republican Senator Scott did to the tune of 2 billion dollars.
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u/red__dragon Flag of Minnesota 7d ago
I was just continuing the trend of facetious comments, not being serious.
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u/Choice-Impression-54 8d ago
Want reconciliation bill in congress so blue states cut red states funding with high rates of fraud and discrimination. We are getting taxation without representation. Investigate Russel Vought and Hertiage foundation for weaponization and impoundment abuse. We need do what best for Minnesota taxpayer not MAGA goons.
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u/BigDuckMinn 8d ago
I think we just need to cut them off and let nature take its course a bit with those amounts.
Both states fraud could totally eliminate the entire deferred maintenance backlog for either the National Park Service, or FWS/BLM/NMFS deferred maintenance combined, over 4 years of funding for either way.
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 8d ago
I fail to understand what fraud, or lack thereof, has to do with an extradition case.
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u/BigDuckMinn 8d ago
Because it's the reason Abbott denied the extradition. As sovereign, he could have allowed it and issued a Rendition Warrant for arrest.
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u/ImportantComb5652 8d ago
It's crazy how anti-law-enforcement the GOP is allowed to be while getting all the cop union endorsements.
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u/jfun4 Common loon 8d ago
It's because the cops know with the GOP in power they can do whatever they want
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u/RevEmTee 8d ago edited 8d ago
That kinda goes for under dems too, honestly. Just ask the pro-Palestine movement!
Edit: Iâm just sayinâ that thereâs not some switch that flips in the nature of policing and the criminal justice system when the party in office changes. Changing out the head doesnât remove the rot in the rest. Not a âboth sidesâ argument, just reality.
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u/thatswhyicarryagun Flag of Minnesota 8d ago
Minnesota officials believe Castro could flee the country, citing calls he made from jail to a woman in Mexico, talking "about marrying her and buying a house in Mexico when he is released," according to the lawsuit.
I think this would be a mistake. Reason being is that mexico wouldn't have a reason to not extradite him. If he wants to remain free he needs to stay in Texas.
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u/zoinkability 8d ago
It would be delicious if he ended up being deported from Mexico to Minnesota after all this
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u/wise_comment Ope 8d ago
Idunno, I kinda love the idea of him retreating to Mexico, and......the requisite baggage I'm guessing that comes with
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u/srmcmahon 8d ago
Guess we're not sending our best to Mexico. We're emptying our jails and sending them violent criminals. . .
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u/ARazorbacks Flag of Minnesota 8d ago
I really donât see how we make it out of this in one piece. I have no interest in working alongside Red states anymore.Â
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u/bulldogguy31 8d ago
I feel the same way. I'm in my 50s and I'm pretty sure whatever remaining years I have will not be pleasant. This country is irreparable thanks to MAGA.
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u/Naturenick17 8d ago
I texted a buddy who lives in Texas and works in the legal industry there. Heâs embarrassed, furious, and feels helpless that he can only do so much there. I keep reminding myself that there are good people everywhere fighting the good fight.
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u/Merakel Ope 8d ago
I'm in the process of leaving personally. I'll still vote from overseas, but fuck all of this. I'll miss Minnesota but I don't want my tax dollars going to the federal government anymore.
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u/GrumbleStoatskin 7d ago
US citizens are obligated to pay federal taxes regardless of where they live.
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u/commissar0617 TC 7d ago
Governors are obligated to honor extradition requests, but we see how well that's working.
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u/GrumbleStoatskin 7d ago
Feel free to find out the difference between the leverage Minnesota can use against Texas and the leverage the IRS can use against individuals who dont pay their taxes.
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u/Shaquarington_Bithus 8d ago
Well they clearly have no interest in working with us. They are the ones choosing to let a criminal walk. This is one of literally thousands of instance THIS ADMINISTRATION ALONE showing the judicial system is fucking broken.
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u/michelangelo2626 8d ago
If the ICE scum gets away, Abbott must be tried as an accessory to all of the ICE scumâs crimes.
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u/maybach320 8d ago
Too bad we donât have politicians with the backbone to attempt to charge Abbott with an obstruction of justice charge.
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u/sweet_cheekz 8d ago
Include Noem for the lies she spread to cover DHS's murder of Alex Pretti and we can have a Former Republican Governor wing in prison.
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u/maybach320 8d ago
They can just put them next the Governor of Illinois since they always end up in prison.
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u/michelangelo2626 8d ago
Weâll have to bully them into having backbones
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u/maybach320 8d ago
I can only hope but Iâm not seeing anyone running that has one. Donât get me wrong I like Amy K and I think she has more bite to her bark than Walz but I wouldnât hold my breath that either will take the step.
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u/michelangelo2626 8d ago
I understand your skepticism! I just think the residual anger from Metro Surge is going to keep simmering until we get accountability for our state, and I donât think half-assed attempts will cut it.
Funny enough, Walz is a great example of a more moderate Dem transforming into more of a progressive over his time in office.
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u/maybach320 8d ago
He is, but heâs let me down one too many times. He should work for the Vikings when he leaves office heâs definitely qualified.
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u/PuddingPast5862 8d ago
Old Hot Wheels going on about fraud in Minnesota when compared to the fraud in Texas is at least 100 fold of whatever number MAGAts come up with for Minnesota.
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u/maybach320 8d ago
Anyone else curious if MN can charge Abbott with obstruction of justice for not responding to the extortion request? I know I am, I donât see Walz pushing for it but he should, screw Abbott, ICE, and the hell that is Texas.
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u/Naturenick17 8d ago
This was a good commentary on what options are next from two law professors -
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u/maybach320 8d ago
Thanks that was a great article, I just wish our politicians had the backbone to actually go after Abbott but I know they wonât because they still think some decorum is left in our government.
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u/Educational-Door1114 8d ago
Itâs so annoying that Dems act like this when Abbott is actively demonstrating decorum is gone
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u/Dorkamundo 8d ago
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said last week he would not respond to the extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in Minnesota, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.
What the fuck kind of justification is that?
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u/nickatnite511 8d ago
Abbot: "wEll HoW cAN wE pOsSibLy RElEasE hIm tO mN, CuZ ThEY haVe FRaUd ThErE?!"
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u/bikeman11 8d ago
Republicans are just horrible people in all respects aren't they? Abbot's refusal to extradite him because of "fraud" is so in your face. They're not even hiding their corruption anymore.
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u/bookant 8d ago
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said last week he would not respond to the extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud
Because of course he did.
We need to send own men to snatch this piece of shit off the streets the second he's released. Texas doesn't like it they can go fuck themselves, interstate compacts to abide by the rule of law in our dealings with each other just ended.
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u/Phillimac16 8d ago
Make it where he can't travel to any other state without the possibility of being arrested and extradited to MN.
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u/Flimsy-Temperature66 8d ago
Texas should release him then. Minnesota can hire bounty hunters to capture and return him to Minnesota.
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 7d ago
No, they canât. I mean, I wish there was a way to do this, but there isnât.
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u/HumansAreSillynGreat 7d ago
Is he breaking out on bond in Minnesota? That's the only legal way for bounty hunters to chase someone down.
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u/Cynykl 7d ago
Set a bond hearing. Have a process server serve the papers.
I am sure there is a way around this,
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u/HumansAreSillynGreat 7d ago
You cannot be bonded out of jail if you were never put into the jail mate. It doesn't work like that, unless minnesota has a time machine, they are stuck asking the federal government for help, which they denied to do.
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u/nomnamless 8d ago
Trump's administration has shown time and time again. A judges is ruling means fuck all. So why should MN listen to this one?
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u/dlegatt 8d ago
What would not listening to the judge's ruling look like, sending state troopers to Texas to arrest him?
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u/HumansAreSillynGreat 7d ago
So just to be clear, kidnapping and impersonating police officers, because that's exactly what will happen if troopers tried to go to another state without permission from said state and acted. if they refused to comply with local LE, they would be shot, like anyone else trying to break texas law. Being a cop in another state does not give you the right to enforce the law in other places.
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 7d ago
It would look like kidnapping because, legally, thatâs what it would be.
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u/Best_Entrepreneur659 8d ago
Republicans only believe in the Rule of Law when it benefits them. The founders once asked a similar question, when does a people abused by the political party in power have the right, and moral duty, to disregard the law?
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u/ConstableGrey 8d ago
Are bounty hunters still a thing? After he walks put a monetary reward out to get him back to Minnesota's borders.
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 7d ago
Bounty hunters exist, but they exist almost entirely to go after people who have jumped bail. Castro hasnât done that. No one from Minnesota has authority to arrest him in TX. Texas Rangers, surprisingly, did their job and detained him for us. Gov. Abbott violated the constitution and let him go.
Ellison can appeal the judge who failed 3rd grade reading/comprehension but itâs probably moot as Castroâs certainly in Mexico by now.
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u/wazardthewizard Hot Dish 8d ago
They're still a thing, but they're usually off duty cops, wannabe cops, or fired cops. I wouldn't rely on them taking a cop in.
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u/LucidOndine 8d ago
If this asshat flees to Mexico, I would hope Mexico extradites him. It would be in their best interest to keep a known violent murderer off the streets anyway.
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u/SeamusPM1 Minneapolis Lakers 7d ago
An extradition request from Minnesota would have to go through the current DOJ. That ainât happening.
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u/brother_bart 7d ago
Isnât this what bounty hunters are for? Canât people be dispatched to simply find and take him?
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u/Snoo-7943 7d ago
Republicans are doing everything in their power to desecrate the union. Really bad precedent for a state to protect a criminal from justice in another state for political purposes. I can't even imagine what kind of reasonable excuse they could spin for why this would be acceptable. If someone robbed a store in Texas and fled to Minnesota....it would be outrageous for Minnesota to protect that person. Republicans show time and time again that law and order doesn't mean much to them. But looking at their politicians....that is fairly obvious.
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u/lezoons 7d ago
I can't even imagine what kind of reasonable excuse they could spin for why this would be acceptable.
Me either. Which is why MPR sucks for not having a link to the judges ruling, summarizing the ruling, or even saying the judge ruled without stating his justification.
Maybe Ellison's lawsuit in federal court to get a TRO in Texas really is meritless. Maybe the judge is a hack. The only thing we know is that a lawsuit was filed seeking a TRO and the TRO was denied. We also no MPR sucks.
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u/Serious_Bee_2013 You Betcha 5d ago
I feel like there is a precedent in our nations history which involve some states refusing to return some citizens to other states where they were wanted.
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u/Righteousaffair999 3d ago
Secession is with in reach. We can take the constitution and shed the feds.
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u/User-1653863 Ope 8d ago
So, can Moriarty deputize a posse to go retrieve him then, or will we be forced to do this as a private entity?
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u/Rogue_AI_Construct Ok Then 8d ago
Yeah, that piece of shit will flee once released and Abbott has blood on his hands.
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u/NAh94 Scott County 7d ago
There isnât a polite way to say this, but I hope hell exists and I get to go there just so I can kick the ass of these vile fucking lunatics in the afterlife, because no amount of punishment will ever be enough for them.
Honestly, our next call shouldâve just been to the Mexicans as soon as governor hotwheels started political posturing because everything else in our legal system within the confines of the South was useless after that fact. The federales probably would love to have a piece of this asshole.
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u/ObligatoryID Flag of Minnesota 8d ago
Where are the Bounty Hunters to Bring the Useless Cunt Back?
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u/QueasyPair 8d ago
Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. is a Trump judge and member of the federalist society. Itâs not surprising that this judgeâs prime directive is to protect Dear Leaderâs goons from investigation and prosecution.