(Washington) Newly released documents reveal that a US citizen was shot and killed in Texas by a federal immigration agent last year during a nighttime traffic stop that had not been made public by the Department of Homeland Security.
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The death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, would be the first of at least six fatal incidents involving federal agents since the nationwide crackdown on immigration began during President Donald Trump’s second term. On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security said the shooting last March on South Padre Island occurred after the driver deliberately crashed into an officer.
According to documents obtained by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Washington, the shootings involved a Homeland Security Investigations team conducting an immigration enforcement operation in conjunction with local police.
These documents are part of a series of heavily redacted internal documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the nonprofit organization obtained as part of a lawsuit filed under the Access to information law.
Although Martinez’s death on March 15, 2025, was reported by local media at the time, state and federal authorities did not disclose that the death involved the team of federal agents.
In a statement released Friday, the Department of Homeland Security said the driver who was killed “deliberately ran over a Homeland Security Investigations special agent,” leading another agent to fire “defensive shots to protect himself, his colleagues, and the general public.” »
The department did not respond to questions about why it had not issued a press release or other public notification about a police-involved death in the past 11 months.
Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, said her son had just turned 23 a few days before, when he and his best friend drove from San Antonio to the beach to spend the weekend and celebrate the birthday. South Padre Island, located on the Gulf Coast just north of the United States-Mexico border, is a popular spring break destination that attracts tens of thousands of college students each March to party.
Martinez worked at an Amazon warehouse, enjoyed playing video games and spending time with his friends. His mother said he had never been in trouble with the law before.
“He was a very normal young man,” Reyes told the Associated Press. “He never really had a chance to go out and experience new things. It was the first time he left town. He was a kind, humble boy. And he wasn’t violent at all. »
