By Gabe Whisnant and Peter Aitken
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Rachel Reyes, the mother of a U.S. citizen shot and killed by a federal immigration agent in Texas last year, says her family has spent the past year searching for answers and justice amid what she described as silence from authorities.
"It’s my hope that attention being raised now into Ruben’s death will help bring the justice we want for him and the answers we haven’t had," Reyes wrote in an email shared with Newsweek by her attorneys.
The Context
Newly released records reviewed by Newsweek show that Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, was killed during a late‑night traffic encounter involving a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) team on March 15, 2025—a shooting that was not publicly disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at the time.
Read More on U.S.
The case appears to be the first known instance of a federal agent fatally shooting a U.S. citizen under the Trump administration’s hard-line mass deportation policy. New details later emerged through internal U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records obtained by watchdog American Oversight via a Freedom of Information Act request and reviewed by Newsweek.
DHS said the incident remains under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Ranger Division and directed any additional questions to that agency.
Read more:
- DHS Confirms Third US Citizen Killing After Newsweek Investigation
- Newsom Alarmed by Year-Long Delay Disclosing Fatal ICE Shooting
- Third American Death Linked to ICE Crackdown Uncovered by Newsweek
- Who Was Ruben Ray Martinez? US Citizen Fatally Shot by ICE Agent
- Officials Demand Answers Over ICE Shooting
- Read Full DHS‑ICE Report on Fatal Shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez
- Former ICE Director Breaks Down Ruben Ray Martinez’s Death Report
...
What To Know
ICE said an agent with its HSI unit fired the fatal shots during a traffic incident after Martinez failed to follow law enforcement instructions while agents were assisting local police with immigration enforcement.
In an email to Newsweek on Friday, DHS confirmed the story.
Newsweek identified Martinez as the man who was killed based on local reporting at the time of the incident and contacted his family for comment, which was received Friday.
“Since Ruben’s death a year ago, all we have wanted is justice for him and we have struggled with the silence surrounding his killing" Reyes told Newsweek in her email. "Now, the country is in crisis - and, terribly, heartbreakingly, other families are enduring what we have."
Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm, attorneys for the family of Martinez, told Newsweek via email that "Ruben’s family has been pursuing transparency and accountability for nearly a year now and will continue to do so for as long as it takes."
"It is critical that there is a full and fair investigation into why HSI was present at the scene of a traffic collision and why a federal officer shot and killed a US citizen as he was trying to comply with instructions from the local law enforcement officers directing traffic," the attorneys wrote.
It remains unclear whether body-worn camera footage exists or whether members of Congress were formally notified at the time of the shooting.
Pages-72-77-from-DHS-ICE-25-0213-25-0481-25-0956-A-Proces_260221_103823.pdf.PDF
What People Are Saying
A spokesperson for the DHS, in an email to Newsweek: "A driver of a blue Ford intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent resulting in him being on the hood of the vehicle. Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public. The driver was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The agent who was ran over sustained a knee injury and was taken to the hospital."
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, deputy communications director for Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, in a statement to Newsweek: "While we don’t know all the facts of this case, it is clear that transparency and accountability are vital, especially when deadly force is used. The nearly year-long delay in disclosing this incident is deeply concerning and suggests the public is unaware of the extent of DHS abuses and rising use of force in immigration enforcement."
"Americans deserve timely disclosure, real oversight, and clear accountability when force is used in their name," she added.
Update 2/20/26, 8:25 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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