Lawmakers Call for Investigation After Records Reveal Undisclosed ICE Shooting Death of U.S. Citizen

Records we obtained through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot a 23-year-old American citizen, Ruben Ray Martinez, in South Padre Island, Texas, in March 2025. ICE had not publicly acknowledged its involvement in the fatal shooting before we publicly released the records.

An internal incident report we obtained, first reported by Newsweek, details the fatal encounter, which occurred nearly a year before subsequent ICE-related fatalities in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests. Martinez’s family confirmed that key details in the report conflict with information they were initially provided, raising serious concerns about transparency and whether other fatal incidents have gone undisclosed.

In the wake of the records’ release, federal, state, and local leaders are demanding answers and accountability. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro called for a “full investigation into this shooting, including why there was an 8-month cover up.” Texas State Representative Ray Lopez, vice chair of the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans Affairs, invoked a newly adopted legislative rule to demand a public hearing on the fatal shooting. San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones urged Congress to initiate an investigation, explaining the delay in answers has eroded trust, and emphasized that congressional leaders must step in to ensure transparency and accountability.

“No one should ever have to endure what the family of Ruben Ray Martinez has experienced. For them, this is a devastating and unimaginable loss and ICE’s role should never have been concealed from the family or from the public,” said our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu. “His loved ones deserve the truth, they deserve accountability, and they deserve answers — now. What we’ve seen here is not just a breakdown in transparency, but what appears to be a deliberate effort to keep the public in the dark. When a fatal shooting goes undisclosed for nearly a year, it raises serious questions: What else is being hidden? How many other deadly encounters have gone unreported? These questions strike at the heart of public trust. We will keep pushing for full transparency and real accountability — and we will not stop until the truth comes to light.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed to Newsweek that an ICE agent fatally shot Martinez during the March 15, 2025 encounter, describing the shooting as an act of self-defense after the driver allegedly “ran over” an agent. DHS said the agent “fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.” However, a written statement from Joshua Orta, the only passenger in Martinez’s vehicle, disputed that account.

According to reporting from the New York Times, Orta stated that Martinez was attempting to comply with officers’ instructions and did not run over an agent. Orta wrote that officers fired “multiple shots” through the driver’s window “without giving any warning, commands or opportunity to comply,” and that Martinez was unarmed and not resisting at the time he was shot. Orta, who had planned to cooperate with investigators representing Martinez’s family, died in an unrelated car accident earlier this month.

Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, told the Times that she was “shocked and insulted” by discrepancies between the government’s internal account and what investigators had initially conveyed to her family. Reyes described the family’s frustration with the lack of answers and said they had “struggled with the silence” surrounding her son’s killing, expressing hope that renewed attention would help produce answers and justice.

The shooting of Martinez occurred nearly a year before two other fatal ICE shootings of American citizens in Minneapolis — incidents that drew national protests after bystander videos contradicted official accounts. Martinez is at least the third U.S. citizen shot and killed by federal immigration officers since the start of President Trump’s second term. Since September, federal agents have fired at vehicles at least 10 times in six different cities.

Under DHS policy, immigration officers may use deadly force only when they have a reasonable belief that a subject poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury, and officers are instructed to avoid placing themselves in situations where deadly force becomes the only option.

Martinez’s death at the hands of ICE reportedly remains under investigation by the Texas Rangers.