Texas judge declines to order ICE agent's extradition to Minnesota - Courthouse News

The agent, Christian Castro, has been wanted by Minnesota for nearly three months, but Abbott has neither signed off on the extradition request nor officially denied it. That legal limbo prompted Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison to sue, arguing Abbott is violating the U.S. Constitution's extradition clause, the federal Extradition Act, and Texas' own Uniform Criminal Extradition Act.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. Sided with neither state on the merits. He ruled that because Abbott has not formally denied the extradition, the court has no jurisdiction to enter the order Minnesota was seeking. Abbott's silence, in other words, is doing legal work that an outright refusal would not.

For Texans, the case puts Abbott's office at the center of a direct clash between state executive authority and a neighboring state's criminal justice system. Minnesota is left without a clear next step unless Abbott makes a formal decision one way or the other.

The constitutional extradition clause has been on the books since 1789, but governors have historically had wide discretion in how they handle requests like this one.