State Rep. Gina Hinojosa smiles during a previous campaign stop in San Antonio. Credit: Michael Karlis
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa has accused the Texas Department of Public Safety of helping in a nearly yearlong effort to cover up the slaying of San Antonio man Ruben Ray Martinez by a federal immigration agent.
The Current caught up with Hinojosa, a Texas House member representing an Austin district, during a Sunday campaign stop at The Social Spot in San Antonio. When asked if she thought authorities intentionally hid details of Martinez’s death from the public, she didn’t hold back.
“Using my expertise as an American, yes,” Hinojosa said. “It is very concerning and not typical for a death that is committed by a federal agent to be hidden from the public for almost a year. We should all, as Americans, be alarmed by that. If that happens to one American, that can happen to any of us. We need to shine a light on what is happening and know the facts.”
Martinez, 23, was shot by an ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officer on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, as first reported by Newsweek. The death is believed to be the first instance of a U.S. citizen being killed by ICE since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
In documents, DHS officials alleged that Martinez failed to follow law-enforcement instructions during a traffic incident while its agents assisted local and state police.
However, witness Joshua Orta, 25, who was in the vehicle with Martinez, disputed the feds’ version of events. Instead, Orta asserted that his friend made no attempt to resist and was trying to comply with commands when the ICE officer opened fire, according to a statement obtained by the New York Times.
Orta died in a separate vehicle crash in San Antonio over the weekend, but attorneys for Martinez’s family are still in possession of his written statement.
Hinojosa demands a full investigation into Martinez’s death. Her office has filed an open records request and invoked her legislative oversight powers to access any body-cam footage from the South Padre incident, she told the Current on Sunday.
“We know there were state officers on site when that happened,” Hinojosa said. “So, we want to know what the state knows. As a representative at the Texas State Capitol, I have a right to know, and our people want to know. So, we’re going to get full transparency on that.”
Hinojosa isn’t alone in demanding an investigation.
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat representing San Antonio, have also demanded congressional probes into Martinez’s death.
“It’s very unusual for almost a year they would not disclose that an ICE agent shot and killed this person,” Castro said of Martinez’s death.
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