ICE Agent Charged After Shooting North Minneapolis Resident Through Front Door

The Hennepin County Attorney’s office has charged an ICE agent in the January shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis, marking the second federal officer criminally charged in connection with Operation Metro Surge. 

ICE agent  Christian Castro faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 shooting in north Minneapolis. There is a nation-wide warrant out for his arrest.

According to the criminal complaint, ICE agent Christian Castro fired through the front door of a north Minneapolis home while multiple people, including children, were inside. County Attorney Mary Moriarty said Castro was standing alone in the front yard and was not under threat when he fired.

“Mr. Castro fired his weapon through the front door of the home while standing alone in the front yard, under no physical threat or duress, and knowing there were people who had just run inside,” Moriarty said

Sosa-Celis was taken to the hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and Alfredo Aljorna was also arrested. Both men were charged with assaulting a federal agent in the aftermath of the altercation.

ICE Agents Lied About Shooting

Federal officials spread false information immediately after the shooting. In a lie-filled press release still published on the Department of Homeland Security’s website, they claimed Castro had been struck with shovels, brooms or other weapons before opening fire.

“In fact, he was not hit at all,” Moriarty said. “A violent crime did occur that night, but it was Mr. Castro who committed it.”

ICE Director Todd Lyons later acknowledged that two of his ICE agents, including Castro, lied about the circumstances surrounding the incident, and after video evidence of the shooting was made public, the DOJ requested the charges against Sosa-Celis and Aljorna be dismissed.

“The hastily charged federal case against Mr. Sosa Celis and Mr. Aljorna were dismissed with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled,” said Moriarty. “The crimes that the federal government alleged they committed never occurred.”

Investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the attorney general’s office assisted in the investigation. State investigators did not receive cooperation or evidence from federal authorities during the case.

“There's no modern precedent for what happened to the people here in Minnesota, and so it requires a lot of us to dig in and look at ways to hold people accountable that we probably never thought we would be looking at in our careers,” Moriarty said.

The case could be moved to federal court under a legal process available to federal officers, but Moriarty said the charges would still be prosecuted by her office under Minnesota law. 

“I've said it many times, and I'll say it again there is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal officers who commit crimes in this state or any other,” Moriarty said.

The shooting of Sosa-Celis occurred one week after the fatal shooting of Renee Good and 10 days before the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal officers. Prosecutors have not yet made charging decisions in those cases.

ICE Agents Are Still Here

Despite DHS announcing Operation Metro Surge ended in February, there is still an increased presence of ICE throughout the community.

“We were occupied by our federal government, not at our request,” Moriarty said. “Children are still afraid to go to school. People are still afraid to go to work.”

The financial impact has also been devastating for businesses, families and individuals. Experts estimate that over $240 million in wages were lost in Minneapolis and Saint Paul alone during Operation Metro Surge  Survey data shows Minneapolis and Saint Paul businesses lost over $600 million in revenue during Operation Metro Surge. Survey data also shows clear racial bias in DHS actions.