ICE Officer Pleads Not Guilty to Lying About Minneapolis Shooting

An ICE officer faces federal charges for lying to the FBI about a nonfatal shooting in Minneapolis. The case has sparked political tensions and legal battles.

Editorial Desk

September 19, 2026 One Min Read

POLICY WIRE — St. Paul, Minn. — An immigration officer has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of lying to the FBI about an incident in which he shot and wounded a Venezuelan man during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Christian Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge on Friday after being indicted on six counts of making false statements regarding the Jan. 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. He was suspended without pay by ICE following the incident.

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The case has drawn national attention, with Minnesota authorities facing opposition from the Trump administration over jurisdiction. The Department of Homeland Security has called the state’s prosecution of Castro ‘unlawful,’ asserting that only federal authorities have jurisdiction over such matters.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)

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