BREAKING (A Year Late): DHS Admits ICE Agent Fatally Shot U.S. Citizen
A 23-year-old American was shot dead by a federal agent, and the public is only now getting the full story. Or any story.
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that an agent with Homeland Security Investigations fired “defensive shots” at Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island, Texas, on March 15, 2025. Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was killed—but the involvement of an ICE HSI unit wasn’t publicly disclosed at the time. That detail only surfaced after internal records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request were reviewed by Newsweek.
According to DHS, agents were assisting local police after a major accident when a “driver of a blue Ford intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent resulting in him being on the hood of the vehicle.” Another agent then opened fire. “The driver was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The agent who was ran over sustained a knee injury and was taken to the hospital.” Newsweek reports it has not independently corroborated that account.
Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, says the family has spent a year searching for answers. “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,” she told the outlet. “Now, the country is in crisis—and, terribly, heartbreakingly, other families are enduring what we have.” The family’s attorneys argue it is “critical that there is a full and fair investigation into why HSI was present at the scene of a traffic collision and why a federal officer shot and killed a US citizen as he was trying to comply with instructions from the local law enforcement officers directing traffic.”
The Texas Rangers are leading the investigation. The FBI’s San Antonio field office is not involved. It remains unclear whether body-camera footage exists or whether Congress was formally notified.
What is clear: This appears to be the first known fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal agent under the Trump administration’s mass deportation policy.
Martinez’s obituary described him as “humble, kind, and adventurous.” His family says they will keep pushing for transparency “for as long as it takes.” Meanwhile, Newsweek has filed additional public-records requests seeking reports and video tied to the shooting.
Source: Newsweek
Editor: A U.S. citizen dies in an encounter with federal agents, and it takes a year and a watchdog FOIA request to surface key details. If this is what “transparency” looks like, imagine what we’re not seeing.