A federal immigration officer has been charged with assault and falsely reporting a crime in connection with the shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant during a Trump administration immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

Christian Castro, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, faces four counts of second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime in the January 14 shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the charges Monday and issued a warrant for Castro's arrest.

The shooting occurred when Castro and another officer chased a different man to an apartment duplex where both the targeted individual and Sosa-Celis lived. Castro shot Sosa-Celis in the thigh during the incident. Moriarty stated that both Sosa-Celis and the other man were legally present in the United States.

Federal authorities initially accused Sosa-Celis and another resident, Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna, of assaulting an officer with a broom handle and snow shovel. However, a federal judge later dismissed these charges, and federal officials opened an investigation into whether immigration officers provided false testimony about the incident.

The charges stem from Operation Metro Surge, which the Department of Homeland Security described as its largest immigration enforcement operation. The Trump administration deployed thousands of officers to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area as part of a national deportation campaign. The operation generated controversy after federal officers killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, leading to civil unrest and questions about officer conduct.

Castro is the second federal officer to face felony charges in Minnesota related to Operation Metro Surge. Hennepin County continues investigating the two fatal shootings and has sued the Trump administration for access to evidence in multiple cases involving federal officers' conduct during the operation.