By MICHAEL BIESECKER and JESSE BEDAYN
WASHINGTON (AP) — Newly launched information present a U.S. citizen was shot and killed in Texas by a federal immigration agent final 12 months throughout a late-night site visitors encounter that was not publicly disclosed by the Division of Homeland Safety.
The demise of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, would mark the earliest of at the least six lethal shootings by federal officers because the begin of a nationwide immigration crackdown in President Donald Trump’s second time period. On Friday, DHS mentioned the capturing on South Padre Island final March occurred after the driving force deliberately struck an agent.
The capturing concerned a Homeland Safety Investigations group that was conducting an immigration enforcement operation along with native police, in line with paperwork obtained by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group primarily based in Washington.
The information are a part of a tranche of closely redacted inside paperwork from Immigration and Customs Enforcement that the nonprofit obtained as a part of a Freedom of Info Act lawsuit.
Although Martinez’s demise on March 15, 2025, was reported by native media shops on the time, federal and state authorities didn’t disclose that the capturing concerned the group from HSI. In an announcement Friday, DHS mentioned the driving force who was killed “deliberately ran over a Homeland Safety Investigation particular agent,” leading to one other agent firing “defensive pictures to guard himself, his fellow brokers, and most people.”
The division didn’t reply to questions on why it had made no media launch or different public notification of the officer-involved capturing during the last 11 months.
Martinez’s mom, Rachel Reyes, mentioned her son was simply days previous his twenty third birthday when he and his finest good friend drove from San Antonio all the way down to the seaside for the weekend to have fun. South Padre Island, positioned on the Gulf Coast simply north of the U.S.-Mexico border, is a famend spring break vacation spot that pulls tens of hundreds of college-aged partiers every March.
Martinez labored at an Amazon warehouse, favored to play video video games and hang around with pals. His mom mentioned he had by no means had any prior run-ins with regulation enforcement.
“He was a typical younger man,” Reyes instructed The Related Press. “He by no means actually received an opportunity to exit and expertise issues. It was his first time attending to exit of city. He was a pleasant man, humble man. And he wasn’t a violent particular person in any respect.”
Information present federal brokers have been aiding police
In line with an inside two-page ICE incident report included within the newly disclosed paperwork, shortly after midnight, HSI officers have been aiding South Padre Island police by redirecting site visitors by way of a busy intersection after a car accident with a number of accidents.
A blue, four-door Ford with a driver and passenger approached the officers, who ordered the driving force to cease. The report doesn’t say why. Initially, the driving force didn’t reply to instructions however did ultimately come to a cease, in line with the report.
Brokers then surrounded the car, telling these inside to get out, however the driver “accelerated ahead” and struck an HSI particular agent “who wound up on the hood of the car,” the report mentioned. An HSI supervisory particular agent standing by the aspect of the automotive then fired his weapon a number of instances by way of the open driver’s aspect window, and the car stopped.
Paramedics already on the scene of the accident rapidly offered medical support and the driving force was taken by ambulance to a regional hospital in Brownsville, the place he was pronounced lifeless, in line with the report. The passenger, additionally a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody.
The HSI officer who the report says was struck by the car was handled for an unspecified knee damage at a close-by hospital and launched.
The names of the 2 HSI brokers concerned within the capturing and the names of the 2 males within the automotive have been all redacted from the ICE report, however Reyes confirmed the lifeless driver was her son. She mentioned he was shot 3 times.
State investigation into capturing remains to be ‘lively’
The report says the Texas Rangers responded to the capturing scene and took the lead as the first company investigating the capturing.
Reyes mentioned she first realized her son had been shot by a federal agent, relatively than an area police officer, a few week after he was killed. She was contacted by an investigator from the Rangers who she mentioned instructed her there have been movies of the capturing that contradicted the account offered by federal brokers. DHS didn’t instantly reply to an e-mail Friday concerning the declare that there’s video exhibiting a distinct account.
She mentioned she was instructed by the investigator that the state report into the capturing was accomplished in October and that the case can be offered to a grand jury for potential felony expenses.
The Texas Division of Public Security, which incorporates the Rangers, mentioned in an announcement Friday that the investigation into the capturing remains to be “lively” and declined to supply extra info.
Messages left with the workplace of Cameron County District Legal professional Luis V. Saenz, an elected Democrat whose jurisdiction consists of South Padre Island, acquired no response Friday. South Padre Island Police Chief Claudine O’Carroll additionally didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Attorneys for the household mentioned Friday they’ve spent the previous 12 months pursuing accountability and transparency.
“It’s crucial that there’s a full and truthful investigation into why HSI was current on the scene of a site visitors collision and why a federal officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen as he was attempting to adjust to directions from the native regulation enforcement officers directing site visitors,” attorneys Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm mentioned in an announcement.
Brokers concerned have been a part of a border activity pressure
In line with the ICE report, the HSI brokers concerned within the capturing have been a part of a maritime border enforcement safety activity pressure sometimes targeted on combating transnational felony organizations at seaports. Over the past 12 months, nonetheless, officers from throughout a number of federal businesses have been reassigned to prioritize immigration enforcement.
In January, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mom in Minneapolis, was killed within the driver’s seat of her SUV by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. Trump administration officers initially tried to color Good as a “home terrorist” who tried to ram officers along with her car earlier than a number of movies emerged of the incident that solid doubt on the federal government’s narrative.
As within the Good case, specialists in police coaching and techniques questioned why a federal officer apparently positioned himself in entrance of Martinez’s car.
“You don’t stand in entrance of the automotive, you don’t put your self in hurt’s approach,” mentioned Geoffrey Alpert, a police use-of-force professional on the College of South Carolina. He added that there’s by no means a state of affairs the place it’s justified, “since you don’t know whether or not this particular person goes to flee, and if he flees, you could possibly be lifeless.”
Alpert mentioned investigators will possible assessment any out there physique digital camera video or different footage to look at how swiftly Martinez moved the automotive ahead, if he merely took his foot off the break or pressed down laborious on the accelerator.
Martinez’s mom mentioned she didn’t imagine he would ever deliberately assault a regulation enforcement officer.
“They didn’t give him an opportunity,” Reyes mentioned. “It’s so extreme. They might have finished the rest in addition to that. It’s like they shoot first and ask questions later.”
Bedayn reported from Denver.
