Lead: Newly released internal records show that Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was shot and killed on 15 March 2025 on South Padre Island, Texas, during a late-night traffic encounter involving agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The documents, obtained by the non-profit American Oversight through a Freedom of Information Act request, say an HSI agent fired after the vehicle struck a federal officer; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later characterized the shots as defensive. Local media reported Martinez’s death at the time, but federal authorities did not publicly disclose HSI’s role until the records were made public. State investigators from the Texas Rangers continue an active probe, and the incident is part of at least six deadly federal shootings linked to a nationwide immigration enforcement surge.
Key takeaways
- Victim and date: Ruben Ray Martinez, age 23, was shot and later pronounced dead on 15 March 2025 in South Padre Island, Texas.
- Agency involvement: The shooting involved agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assisting local police during a traffic-control operation, according to ICE records obtained by American Oversight.
- Official account: DHS told reporters the driver “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent” and another agent fired in self-defense; the department did not publicly disclose the HSI involvement for 11 months.
- Injuries and aftermath: Paramedics treated Martinez at the scene; he was transported to a Brownsville hospital and pronounced dead. An HSI officer treated for a knee injury was later released, and the passenger—a U.S. citizen—was detained.
- Redactions and records: ICE records released to American Oversight are heavily redacted; the names of agents and vehicle occupants are obscured in the incident report.
- Investigation status: Texas state investigators say the probe is active; an investigator told the victim’s mother the state report was completed in October and may be presented to a grand jury.
- Broader pattern: Martinez’s death is identified in the records as the earliest of at least six fatal shootings by federal officers since the start of the immigration enforcement surge in President Trump’s second term.
Background
South Padre Island is a Gulf Coast destination near the U.S.–Mexico border that draws large crowds each March for spring break; the late-night environment where the shooting occurred was described in police and ICE accounts as busy, with officers redirecting traffic after a multi-injury crash. HSI is a component of ICE that conducts criminal investigations related to border security and immigration; HSI teams sometimes operate alongside local law enforcement on traffic and public-safety duties. The newly disclosed two-page ICE incident report says HSI officers were assisting South Padre Island police when the traffic stop unfolded, but the report omits many identifying details because names and other fields were redacted.
The documents were released to American Oversight following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit; the tranche of records includes heavily redacted internal ICE files that have not previously been disclosed. Nonprofit and press scrutiny of federal enforcement has intensified amid a nationwide escalation of immigration operations, and advocates and watchdogs have pressed for transparency around officer-involved shootings. Historically, federal shootings receive layered reviews—agency internal probes, state criminal investigations where applicable, and in some cases federal civil or administrative inquiries—so the path from incident to public accounting can be prolonged and fragmented.
Main event
According to the ICE incident report, shortly after midnight on 15 March 2025 HSI officers were assisting local police by diverting traffic at a busy intersection following an earlier accident. A blue four-door Ford carrying a driver and a passenger approached the officers; the report states the driver was ordered to stop but did not initially comply. After coming to a stop, agents surrounded the vehicle and instructed the occupants to exit, the report says. It does not explain why the initial stop command was issued.
The report says the driver then “accelerated forward” and struck an HSI special agent, who ended up on the hood of the vehicle. A supervisory HSI special agent positioned at the driver’s side fired multiple rounds through the open driver-side window; the vehicle subsequently came to a halt. Paramedics already at the scene provided aid; Martinez was taken by ambulance to a regional hospital in Brownsville, where he was pronounced dead. The passenger was detained and identified as a U.S. citizen.
The names of the two HSI agents and the two men in the car are redacted in the ICE report. Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, identified her son from local reporting and later learned the shooter was a federal agent rather than a local officer. Reyes told investigators she was told by a Texas Rangers investigator that video exists and that some footage may contradict the federal account, a claim DHS has not publicly confirmed. The HSI officer said to have been struck was treated for a knee injury and released from a nearby hospital.
Analysis & implications
This incident raises questions about federal transparency in officer-involved shootings and the coordination between federal and local authorities. Federal components such as HSI often operate alongside municipal police, which can complicate how incidents are reported and which agency issues public notifications. The delay in acknowledging HSI involvement—11 months according to the records—heightens concerns among advocates about when and how federal agencies disclose force incidents to the public and to oversight bodies.
Legally and politically, the case sits at the intersection of criminal investigation and administrative review. Texas Rangers are conducting a state criminal probe, while ICE and DHS typically conduct internal administrative inquiries; overlapping processes can lead to parallel but distinct outcomes, including potential state criminal charges, federal administrative discipline, or civil litigation. The mention that the state report was completed in October and could go to a grand jury indicates a possible criminal phase, though grand-jury decisions remain unknown until charges are filed.
At a policy level, Martinez’s death is one data point in a recent uptick of deadly encounters involving federal officers during an intensified national immigration enforcement effort. Observers say patterns in use-of-force incidents can influence public opinion, congressional oversight, and litigation, and could prompt calls for clearer reporting rules, body-camera policies, and independent review of federal law-enforcement shootings. The case may also affect local community relations with federal partners in border regions, where enforcement activity is higher and tensions over civil liberties and public safety are acute.
Comparison & data
| Incident | Date / Notes |
|---|---|
| Ruben Ray Martinez (HSI-related) | 15 March 2025 — Shot during traffic encounter on South Padre Island; records released via FOIA |
| Other federal officer fatal shootings | At least five additional fatal shootings reported since the start of the enforcement surge (dates and agency details vary) |
The ICE documents identify Martinez’s death as the earliest in a set of at least six federal deadly shootings tied to the renewed immigration enforcement posture in the second term of President Trump. Public records on the other incidents are uneven—some were publicly reported at the time, others were disclosed only after records requests—and many agency reports remain redacted. This patchwork disclosure complicates efforts to establish a complete, independently verifiable dataset of federal use-of-deadly-force incidents tied specifically to the recent enforcement campaign.
Reactions & quotes
Federal response came in a brief DHS statement that framed the shooting as defensive: the department said a driver had struck an HSI special agent and that another agent fired to defend himself, colleagues and the public. DHS has not publicly explained the 11-month delay in disclosing HSI involvement in the shooting.
“Intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent,”
Department of Homeland Security (summary of agency statement)
The victim’s mother, Rachel Reyes, has pushed for answers from state and federal investigators and said she was told by a Texas Rangers investigator that video exists which may show a different sequence of events. Reyes also said her son, who had just turned 23 days earlier, was shot three times; that detail is included in family statements and local reporting.
“He was shot three times,”
Rachel Reyes (mother of Ruben Ray Martinez)
The Texas Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Texas Rangers, confirmed the investigation remains active and declined to release further details while the probe is ongoing. The department’s limited public comments emphasize the criminal-investigation status and the need to preserve investigative integrity.
“The investigation is active,”
Texas Department of Public Safety (official statement)
Unconfirmed
- An investigator allegedly told the victim’s mother that video exists which contradicts the federal account; DHS has not publicly confirmed the existence or content of such footage.
- The Texas investigator’s assertion that the state report was presented to a grand jury has not resulted in any publicly announced grand-jury action or indictment as of this writing.
- The ICE incident report is heavily redacted; some specifics about commands given to the driver and the exact sequence of events remain unclear in the public record.
Bottom line
The newly released ICE records show that an HSI team was involved in the fatal March 2025 shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez on South Padre Island and that federal authorities did not clearly disclose that involvement to the public for nearly a year. That delay, combined with redactions and conflicting accounts reported to the victim’s family, underscores ongoing transparency challenges when federal and local agencies operate together.
State and federal processes remain active and could yield further disclosures—criminal charges, administrative findings, or additional records releases—that clarify the sequence of events and accountability. For policymakers and community leaders, the case highlights the need for clearer reporting protocols and independent review mechanisms for federal officer-involved shootings, especially in high-traffic, border-adjacent jurisdictions.