Texas politicians are demanding accountability and a full-blown investigation into the reported March 2025 killing of a 23-year-old US citizen by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
As per US reports citing records, Ruben Ray Martinez was shot dead in South Padre Island, Texas, months before Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis amid the Donald Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Although Martinez’s Texas death was reported at the time, ICE’s involvement in it was only disclosed this week, signalling a months-long “cover up,” as per CBS News.
Texas lawmakers speak out against ICE shooting
“An ICE agent shot and killed Ruben Ray Martinez, a US citizen and San Antonio resident, in March 2025,” Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro wrote on X. “Then ICE and the Texas Department of Public Safety covered it up. He was 23 years old. I am calling for a full investigation into this shooting, including why there was an 8-month cover up.”
Similarly, Democratic Texas state Rep. Ray Lopez, who serves as vice chair of the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs, said he exercised his authority under Rule 4, Section 6A of the Texas House Rules to push Committee Chairman Cole Hefner to schedule a hearing on Martinez’s death.
“ICE did not disclose for 8 months that they were the ones who shot Martinez. Americans deserve immediate answers and an independent investigation of the shooting,” Congressman Greg Casar also wrote on X.
Senator Roland Gutierrez added, “We just found out ICE agents shot and killed 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez a year ago. @TxDPS covered it up. DPS is lying when they say they aren’t targeting Latinos, and I’m going to make sure we have justice and accountability.”
Texas State Rep and Democratic candidate for Texas Governor Gina Hinojosa also joined the calls for transparency, saying, “Before Renee Good. Before Alex Pretti. There was Ruben Ray Martinez. A Texan. An American. They tried to hide it. We’ll get answers.”
ICE involvement in Ruben Ray Martinez shooting uncovered
Federal immigration agents’ ties to the yesteryear shooting first came to light earlier this week, when Newsweek relied on government documents released by nonprofit watchdog American Oversight Project to connect Martinez’s death with an internal ICE report.
The ICE report dated January 30, 2025, redacts the victim’s name, noting that the March 15 incident involved Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) agents. They are said to have been helping South Padre Island police officers control traffic after a severe car accident.
As per the internal report, a blue Ford came up to the location where ICE agents were directing traffic. After the car’s driver “failed to follow instruction,” he attempted to continue driving, according to the ICE document. However, the vehicle ultimately “slowed to a stop” following agents’ commands. Eventually, the driver was asked to exit the vehicle, but he ended up accelerating forward, as per the report, and hit one of the ICE agents.
It further suggested that the federal agent “wound up on the hood of the vehicle,” which then prompted another ICE agent to fire “multiple rounds” at the one driving though an open side window. Although the driver was given medical aid and taken to a Brownsville hospital, the report stated he was eventually pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, the agent struck by the car was transferred to an area hospital as well with a knee injury.
On the other a passenger in the car, who was also a US citizen, was taken into custody at the scene. Their name remained redacted in the ICE report.
DHS confirms Texas shooting
After the emergence of the Newsweek report shedding light on the ICE document, the Department of Homeland Security told the outlet that an HSI agent fired “defensive shots” at a driver after he “intentionally ran over” another agent.
Releasing statements to US outlets like CBS and Newsweek, Ruben Ray’s mother Rachel Reyes said, “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. Now, the country is in crisis — and, terribly, heartbreakingly, other families are enduring what we have…It’s my hope that attention being raised now into Ruben’s death will help bring the justice we want for him and the answers we haven’t had.”
She has also told The Associated Press that her son worked at an Amazon warehouse, and had turned 23 days before he and his friend drove from San Antonio to South Padre Island for a weekend trip.