A federal judge denied Minnesota's request to block the release of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent jailed in Cameron County and charged with shooting a Venezuelan man during an immigration enforcement operation in January 2026.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. ruled on Wednesday that the case was not ready for the court to decide because Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had not formally refused Minnesota's extradition request, according to the filing.

“For these reasons, the court concludes that this matter does not present an issue ripe for adjudication.  As a result, Minnesota fails to demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of any of its causes of action.  And this failure defeats its request for a temporary restraining order,” the filing states. “Governor Abbott has not violated the Extradition Act, Extradition Clause, or the UCEA by considering Minnesota’s extradition request for three months.  Those statutes prescribe no deadline for a governor of the asylum state to complete an investigation and either sign a rendition warrant or deny the request.”

The case centers on ICE agent Christian Castro, a Rio Grande Valley native. On Jan. 14, 2026, Castro fired a single shot through the front door of a home in Minnesota while pursuing someone, injuring one person in the leg.

READ MORE ABOUT THE REQUEST HERE

Castro was ordered to return to Texas shortly after the shooting. He was charged in May with four felony counts of second-degree assault and one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime after claiming the man had attacked him prior to the shooting, but footage of the shooting contradicted those claims, the Associated Press reported.

Authorities arrested Castro on May 29 in Harlingen booked him into the Cameron County jail, where he remains pending extradition. Under Texas law, a person arrested on an out-of-state warrant cannot be held for more than 90 days, meaning Castro could be released Thursday when that deadline passes.

RELATED STORY: Cameron County sheriff says he must release jailed ICE agent unless federal court steps in

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz formally requested Castro's extradition on June 2, 2026, sending the required documents to Abbott. A Cameron County judge later gave Castro the option to post a $200,000 bond, but Castro has not posted bond or waived his extradition rights, the ruling said

Abbott did not act on the request for nearly two months, even with two follow-up extradition requests, triggering the lawsuit.

In a response to the lawsuit, Abbott said he did not believe Castro was a fugitive because ICE reassigned him to Texas after the shooting, meaning he did not flee prosecution. Abbott also said he had directed the Texas Secretary of State to investigate the matter.

Minnesota submitted evidence that while in custody, Castro made repeated phone calls with a romantic partner living in Progreso, Mexico and expressed a desire to buy property there and move. The state warned that Castro could flee to Mexico once he was released, where extradition proceedings could take months or years.

The court acknowledged that Castro's possible flight to Mexico would create a hardship for Minnesota's prosecution but said that concern alone was not enough to justify the order Minnesota sought.