San Antonio resident Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was killed last March, but it took a year to find out a federal immigration agent shot him. Credit: Mission Park Funerals and Chapel Cemetary
A San Antonio man was shot dead in an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents early last year, and their involvement was left out of initial reports on the fatality, Newsweek reports.
The case appears to be the first known fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal agent during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. National outcry followed the shooting deaths of Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Good earlier this year.
In a bombshell report, Newsweek said it uncovered details on the shooting of San Antonio man Ruben Ray Martinez among a trove of newly released internal ICE documents.
Martinez, 23, was shot by an ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officer on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, according to the news outlet. The shooting came during what ICE described as Martinez’s failure to follow law-enforcement instructions during a traffic incident, while its agents assisted local police.
Martinez’s death was reported in Rio Grande Valley media at the time. While stories identified him by name, they didn’t identify HSI’s involvement or state that a federal agent fired shots through the driver side window of Martinez’s vehicle.
“[The Texas Department of Public Safety] did not say when Martinez died, or which law enforcement agency was involved in the shooting,” a report by KRGV.com stated following the fatality. “Details of what led to the shooting have not been made available. South Padre Island City Manager Randy Smith previously said that [South Padre Island] police officers were not the ones who fired their weapons.”
Newsweek was able to reveal new information on the incident after accessing documents obtained by watchdog group American Oversight through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Agency documents obtained by Newsweek state that on the morning of March 15, 2025, HSI Harlingen BEST Maritime Group was in the area to assist South Padre Island Police Department (SPIPD) with immigration enforcement when both agencies responded to a major vehicle accident. HSI agents were helping redirect traffic when a blue four-door Ford approached the controlled area, according to ICE’s internal report.
“As the vehicle got closer to the special agents the driver failed to follow instructions and attempted to continue onto [redacted],” the report states. “Multiple officers gave verbal commands to the occupants to stop, the driver of the vehicle slowed to a stop, and at this point agents surrounded the vehicle and verbally commanded the driver to exit the vehicle.
“The driver accelerated forward, striking a HSI special agent who wound up on the hood of the vehicle. Upon observing this, HSI group supervisory special agent utilized his government-issued service weapon, discharging multiple rounds at the driver through the open driver’s side window.”
The agent involved in the shooting was taken to a nearby hospital, treated for a knee injury and released, Newsweek reports.
The account of the incident detailed in ICE internal documents hasn’t been independently verified, the national publication notes.
While the report doesn’t name Martinez and his passengers, it describes the deceased as “identified as [redacted] of San Antonio, Texas.” Newsweek was able to identify Martinez based on local reporting from the time of the incident.
On Friday morning, officials connected with California Gov. Gavin Newsom raised concern over the feds’ lack of transparency surrounding the slaying.
“While we don’t know all the facts of this case, it is clear that transparency and accountability are vital, especially when deadly force is used,” Diana Crofts-Pelayo, Newsom’s deputy director of communications, told Newsweek. “The nearly year-long delay in disclosing this incident is deeply concerning and suggests the public is unaware of the extent of DHS abuses and rising use of force in immigration enforcement.
“Americans deserve timely disclosure, real oversight, and clear accountability when force is used in their name,” she added.
A celebration of life was held for Martinez on March 27 of last year at San Antonio’s Mission Park Funeral Chapels South on Southeast Military Drive.
“We ask that you remember him not for the way his life ended, but for the way it was lived, and for the profound impact it had on the lives of those who had the pleasure of knowing him,” his family implored in his March 19 obituary.
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