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Ruben Ray Martinez, a US citizen who was sh0t and sh0ted in Texas by a federal immigration agent last year(Image: AP)

A young man was sh0t d3ad by a federal immigration officer during a nighttime traffic stop in Texas, a new report has revealed.

Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, a US citizen, was sh0t d3ad in South Padre Island in March 2025 but the incident was never made public the Department of Homeland Security.

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Newly-obtained documents reveal the fatal shooting was the first of at least six lethal encounters involving federal agents since President Donald Trump’s second-term immigration enforcement campaign began.

DHS claim Martinez was sh0ted after he deliberately hit an agent with his vehicle.

According to documents secured by American Oversight, a Washington-based nonprofit watchdog organization, the shooting involved a Homeland Security Investigations unit working alongside local law enforcement on an immigration operation.

These files are among a collection of substantially redacted internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement materials that the nonprofit acquired through a Freedom of Information Act legal action.

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While Martinez’s d3ath on March 15, 2025, received coverage from local news organizations, neither federal nor state officials revealed that the fatal shooting involved HSI personnel.

In a Friday statement, DHS maintained that the deceased driver “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent,” prompting another officer to discharge “defensive sh0ts to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.”

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Protestors and law enforcement clash during a demonstration and vigil outside the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, on January 28, 2026(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The department has not addressed inquiries regarding its failure to issue a media statement or public announcement about the officer-involved shooting during the past 11 months.

Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, revealed her son had just turned 23 when he and his closest friend made the trip from San Antonio to the coast for a birthday celebration. South Padre Island, situated along the Gulf Coast near the U.S.-Mexico border, is a popular spring break hotspot that draws tens of thousands of young revelers every March.

Martinez was employed at an Amazon distribution center, enjoyed gaming and spending time with his friends. According to his mother, he had no previous encounters with police.

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Texas state troopers wearing riot gear arrive to help disperse protesters(Image: AP)

“He was a typical young guy,” Reyes said “He never really got a chance to go out and experience things. It was his first time getting to go out of town. He was a nice guy, humble guy. And he wasn’t a violent person at all.”

She couldn’t believe her son would deliberately attack a law enforcement officer.

“They didn’t give him a chance,” Reyes said. “It’s so excessive. They could have done anything else besides that. It’s like they shoot first and ask questions later.”

Federal agents were providing support to local law enforcement.

An internal two-page ICE incident report contained within the recently released documents reveals that just after midnight, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers were supporting South Padre Island police by managing traffic at a congested intersection following a multi-injury vehicle collision.

A blue Ford sedan carrying a driver and passenger approached the officers, who instructed the driver to halt. The report doesn’t specify the reason for the stop.

The driver initially failed to comply with instructions but eventually brought the vehicle to a stop, the report states.

Officers then encircled the car, ordering the occupants to exit, but the driver “accelerated forward” and hit an HSI special agent “who wound up on the hood of the vehicle,” the report said. An HSI supervisory special agent positioned beside the vehicle then discharged his firearm several times through the open driver’s side window, bringing the car to a halt.

Emergency medical personnel already present at the crash scene immediately rendered medical assistance, and the driver was transported via ambulance to a regional medical facility in Brownsville, where he was declared deceased, the report indicates. The passenger, also a U.S. citizen, was placed under arrest.

The HSI officer reportedly struck by the vehicle received treatment for a knee injury at a local hospital before being discharged.

Whilst the ICE report redacted the identities of both HSI agents involved in the incident and the two occupants of the vehicle, Reyes verified that the deceased driver was her son, stating he sustained three gunsh0t wounds.

According to the report, the Texas Rangers arrived at the scene and assumed primary responsibility for investigating the incident.

Reyes revealed she discovered approximately one week following the tragedy that a federal agent, not local law enforcement, had sh0t her son. A Rangers investigator subsequently contacted her, allegedly informing her that video evidence of the shooting conflicted with the federal agents’ version of events.

The investigator reportedly informed her that state authorities finalized their shooting investigation in October and planned to submit the case to a grand jury for consideration of possible criminal charges.