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BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Thursday's release of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer from a Texas jail despite Minnesota's request for his return could set a dangerous precedent, increasing friction between states and helping criminal defendants avoid justice, legal experts said.
Christian Castro was released from a detention center in Brownsville after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to immediately sign his extradition warrant. A federal judge also declined to block Castro's release or order Abbott to sign the warrant.
Minnesota officials say they believe Castro could flee to Mexico to avoid prosecution on charges he shot a man and lied about it during the January immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Extradition from Mexico would require action by the Trump administration, which opened an investigation into Castro's actions but also has argued ICE agents have "absolute immunity" for their actions on duty.
The standoff between the two states is highly unusual. Under federal law, states have little discretion to reject extradition requests from fellow states. Thousands of fugitives are sent to other states each year as a matter of routine.
But Abbott, a Republican, said last week he would not respond to Minnesota's extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in the state, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.
The decision is alarming because it injects politics into the extradition process, said Marsh Halberg, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor in Minnesota.
"Something that's been a routine process may now turn into a political card," he said in a phone interview.
In recent months, California and New York have rejected extradition requests from Louisiana for doctors accused of mailing abortion pills.
But legal scholars say those cases are different because the doctors weren't in Louisiana and never fled the state and became fugitives.
Under federal law, the New York and California governors had no duty to turn over the doctors, Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck wrote on Substack.
"Abbot is just refusing to perform his," he said.