An American citizen was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer in Texas last March, nearly a full year before two separate fatal incidents involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis. According to newly disclosed documents obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight, 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez died after being shot by an ICE officer on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, Texas.
Details of the Fatal Encounter
The 352-page document release, which includes previously unseen "significant incident" reports from ICE, was reviewed by the Daily Mail and initially reported by Newsweek. An incident report from March 2025 describes how Martinez was allegedly driving a Blue Ford four-door vehicle when he encountered federal agents conducting immigration enforcement operations alongside the South Padre Island Police Department.
Sequence of Events Leading to the Shooting
The Department of Homeland Security stated in the report that multiple officers issued commands for the vehicle to stop and surrounded the Ford. The driver accelerated forward, striking a Homeland Security Investigations special agent who ended up on the hood of the vehicle, according to the incident report. In response, one of the agents fired multiple rounds through the open driver's side window at Martinez.
Martinez was transported to a hospital in Brownsville, where he was later pronounced dead. Although the incident report redacted his name, it identified him as a United States citizen. Local media coverage at the time referred to the event as an "officer-involved shooting."
Official Statements and Investigation
DHS confirmed the shooting in a statement, asserting that the Ford driver intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigations special agent. The statement added, "Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public." The agent who was allegedly struck sustained a knee injury and was hospitalized.
DHS also noted that the Texas Department of Public Safety Ranger Division is investigating the incident. The Daily Mail has contacted the department for an update on the investigation's status.
Context of Other ICE-Related Deaths
This incident precedes two other fatalities involving ICE officers in Minneapolis. Renee Good was killed on January 7 by a federal immigration officer, and Alex Pretti, a registered nurse and American citizen, was fatally shot by an ICE agent on January 25. These cases highlight ongoing concerns about the use of force by federal agents during enforcement operations.
The release of these documents by American Oversight sheds new light on the circumstances surrounding Martinez's death, raising questions about transparency and accountability within federal immigration enforcement agencies.
