Records indicate that a DHS agent fatally shot a US citizen in March 2025
A federal immigration agent shot and killed a U.S. citizen in Texas in March 2025, just months prior to the Trump administration’s deportation surge in Minnesota, which resulted in the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as revealed by records released this week.
According to a statement from attorneys representing the family of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, he was killed by agents from the Department of Homeland Security.
A DHS agent discharged several rounds at Martinez, who reportedly struck another DHS agent with his vehicle while the agents were aiding local police in South Padre Island, Texas, with traffic management after an accident on March 15, 2025, based on records acquired by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog organization. The records indicate that the agents were carrying out immigration enforcement.
Martinez’s shooting seems to mark the first documented case of a U.S. citizen being killed amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts. In January, federal agents involved in immigration enforcement shot a minimum of five individuals, among them Pretti and Good.
Lawyers representing the family are urging for an investigation.
According to a statement from Charles Stam and Alex Stamm, attorneys representing Martinez’s family, Martinez was attempting to follow the instructions given by local law enforcement at the time he was shot. They requested a “comprehensive and impartial inquiry.”
“Ruben’s family has been seeking transparency and accountability for almost a year and will persist in their efforts for as long as necessary,” the two attorneys stated.
The rising death toll has intensified examination of Trump’s immigration policies, sparking a reaction from both lawmakers and the public.
The Trump administration is significantly increasing immigration enforcement, allocating $170 billion for immigration agencies through September 2029, marking a historic amount.
Martinez, recognized as a U.S. citizen in the redacted documents, was transported to a hospital in Brownsville, Texas, where he was subsequently pronounced dead. The agent struck by a vehicle was taken to the hospital for a knee injury and was subsequently released, as stated in the report. “These records reveal a profoundly concerning depiction of the violent tactics employed by ICE,” Chioma Chukwu, the executive director of American Oversight, remarked in a statement. “Within the initial months of this administration, ICE’s own data reveals a significant increase of nearly 400% in use-of-force incidents, resulting in hospitalizations, bystanders caught up in operations, and even the death of a U.S. citizen.”
A spokesperson for DHS stated that Martinez “intentionally ran over” an agent from Homeland Security Investigations, while another agent “fired defensive shots.”
The incident, which occurred nearly a year ago, is currently being investigated by the Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to a spokesperson from DHS. A representative from the Texas DPS stated that the case remains an ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers and refrained from providing additional comments.
