SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX — For nearly a year, the death of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez remained a localized tragedy, reported as a fatal encounter with law enforcement during a chaotic spring break weekend. However, internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records recently obtained by watchdog groups have pulled back the curtain on a significant detail previously withheld from the public: the fatal shots were fired by a federal agent assigned to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The incident, which occurred on March 15, 2025, is now drawing intense national scrutiny. Lawmakers and civil rights advocates are questioning why the involvement of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)—a branch of ICE—was not disclosed at the time, leading to allegations of an “organized cover-up.”
The Fatal Encounter
According to the heavily redacted incident reports, the shooting took place shortly after midnight on South Padre Island. HSI agents were reportedly in the area assisting local police with traffic control following a separate, unrelated car accident.
The federal narrative, provided by DHS in a statement released this week, alleges that Martinez, driving a blue Ford, failed to follow verbal commands to stop or exit his vehicle. The report claims that as agents surrounded the car, Martinez “accelerated forward,” striking an HSI special agent. The impact reportedly sent the agent onto the hood of the car. In response, another HSI agent positioned near the driver’s side window fired multiple rounds “defensively” to protect himself and his colleagues.
Martinez was transported to a regional hospital in Brownsville, where he was pronounced dead. The agent struck by the vehicle was treated for a knee injury and subsequently released.
A Year of Silence
While the shooting was reported by local media outlets in 2025, those initial accounts did not specify that federal immigration agents were the ones who used lethal force. The revelation only surfaced this week after the nonprofit group American Oversight obtained internal documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.
“Since Ruben’s death a year ago, all we have wanted is justice for him, and we have struggled with the silence surrounding his killing,” said Rachel Reyes, Martinez’s mother, in a statement. She noted that her son, a U.S. citizen, had traveled from San Antonio to the coast to celebrate his 23rd birthday.
The timing of the disclosure is particularly sensitive. The March 2025 shooting predates several other high-profile fatal encounters involving federal immigration agents that occurred in early 2026, including the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Critics argue that the failure to disclose the South Padre Island shooting masked an early pattern of escalating force within the agency.
Calls for Investigation
U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) has been vocal in his condemnation of the lack of transparency. During a news conference on Friday, Castro called for an immediate investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Congress.
“It appears as though the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Rangers, and the federal government knew he was killed by ICE agents,” Castro said. “This looks like it was an organized cover-up.”
State Representative Gina Hinojosa has also requested a legislative oversight inquiry, specifically demanding the release of body-worn camera footage from the night of the shooting. Advocates point out that while DHS characterized the shooting as self-defense, family lawyers suggest that eyewitness accounts and potential video evidence may contradict the official federal version of events.
The Broader Context
The shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez is now being viewed as the first in a series of at least six fatal shootings by federal immigration officers since the start of the current administration’s intensified immigration enforcement operations.
While ICE and HSI are primarily tasked with immigration and cross-border crimes, their presence at a routine traffic accident on South Padre Island has raised questions about “mission creep.”
As the Texas Rangers continue their active investigation into the shooting, the Martinez family continues to wait for answers. For them, the recent headlines are not just a political flashpoint, but a painful reminder of a birthday celebration that ended in a tragedy the government took nearly a year to fully acknowledge.
Sources and links
- The Texas Tribune: Texan shot dead by ICE agent months before killings in Minneapolis, records show
- Associated Press (via KTVB): Texas man was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent last year during a stop, new records show
- Texas Public Radio: Castro calls for DOJ investigation into fatal shooting of San Antonio man by federal agent
- KENS 5 San Antonio: Records: San Antonio man was killed by ICE agents in March 2025 incident at South Padre Island
- The Guardian: US citizen shot and killed by federal immigration agent last year, new records show
- American Immigration Council: 6 Deaths in ICE Custody and 2 Fatal Shootings: A Horrific Start to 2026
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