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By Billal Rahman and Dan Gooding
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The mother of Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old man who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, voted for President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election, the family’s attorney told Newsweek.
Federal immigration agents fatally shot Martinez on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, Texas, during a late-night traffic encounter involving local law enforcement and agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
On Wednesday, the family, through their attorneys, sought to clear up questions around Martinez and his death. One myth they sought to debunk was that Martinez was an anti-Trump protester or political activist.
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"Ruben's mother, Rachel Reyes, voted for Donald Trump in 2024," the attorneys said. "Ruben was not protesting anything — he was celebrating his 23rd birthday with a childhood friend. Unlike other victims labeled as 'domestic terrorists' by the White House, Ruben was simply a young man trying to get home. Ruben was a UFC enthusiast whose hobbies included music and cars, who worked at an Amazon fulfillment warehouse outside San Antonio."
Why It Matters
Trump returned to the White House on a promise of mass deportations, and over the past year, federal agents have increasingly partnered with local law enforcement, particularly in Republican-led areas, to carry out immigration enforcement efforts.
Unlike the fatal shootings by federal agents of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, DHS has given little comment on Martinez and whether he was seen as an agitator or a "domestic terrorist" impeding law enforcement. The Trump administration's account of the incident has been called into question by Democrats and a statement attorneys said was written by Martinez's childhood friend and passenger that night, who died this past weekend.
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What To Know
Attorneys representing the family revealed the details of Rachel Reyes' voting history in an email to Newsweek on Wednesday.
Alongside her voting preference, attorneys said Reyes and the rest of Martinez's family had been "stonewalled when requesting information" about his death, with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request going nowhere.
The family also listed 12 questions it has for federal authorities and local law enforcement, including why no bodycam footage had been released from March 15, 2025, and why it had taken 11 months for details of the case to be made public.
What Happened To Ruben Ray Martinez?
According to internal ICE documents, a vehicle driven by Martinez struck an agent who was assisting with traffic control. The ICE incident report says that following that contact, another agent fired multiple rounds at the vehicle.
Martinez was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. Federal involvement in the shooting was not publicly disclosed at the time, and details only became known after internal records were obtained through a FOIA request by American Oversight and reviewed by Newsweek.
Joshua Orta, a close friend of Martinez who gave a sworn statement to the family’s attorneys before he died in a car crash over the weekend, said the vehicle was traveling slowly and that Martinez did not deliberately hit an agent, contradicting claims made by the Trump administration.
The family attorneys said Wednesday that the different statements showed the situation in South Padre Island had been "a chaotic scene with conflicting directives shouted at a confused young man by multiple agencies," accusing federal agents of inserting themselves into a traffic incident and using deadly force for no reason.
Orta's statement had said his friend was concerned about an open container in the back seat when approaching the scene, and attorneys said Wednesday that while a toxicology report had "some indicators" of alcohol and marijuana in his system, they believed there was no evidence of Martinez driving erratically.
What People Are Saying
Attorneys for Rachel Reyes, in a statement shared with Newsweek Wednesday: "For nearly a year, DHS has disclosed almost no information about why Ruben was killed, why authorities refused to provide information to Ruben’s own mother as she sought answers, why ICE was detaining drivers at a traffic roadblock, and whether the agent who shot Ruben was placed on leave or otherwise investigated. Now that ICE’s incident report has become public, community leaders and public officials all over the country have joined Ruben’s family in demanding answers.
"The American people know now that they cannot take ICE’s word at face value. They know now that ICE’s incident report makes claims that were refuted by the eyewitness in the car with Ruben that night. It is imperative that the public be shown every piece of evidence—especially body camera and other video evidence—held by the government or by other eyewitnesses."
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek earlier Wednesday: “Every use of force incident and any discharge of an ICE firearm must be properly reported and reviewed by the agency in accordance with agency policy, procedure, and guidelines. All shootings are initially reviewed by an appropriate law enforcement agency. Following a review of the incident by the appropriate investigative agency, ICE will conduct an independent review of the critical incident."
Texas Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro told Newsweek on Tuesday: “We're demanding the release of any kind of video evidence. That would help clarify this. A few things. First, if the evidence was clear in their favor, I believe they would have released it by now. They also have not provided a detailed account of what exactly transpired, and why force was their only option.”
What Happens Next
Attorneys, the family, and Democrats are calling for greater transparency from law enforcement agencies involved. DHS has said the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Ranger Division was continuing to investigate.
Update 2/25/26, 3:13 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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