Details of the first American citizen killed by federal immigration agents during President Trump’s second term were just released.
New footage of federal immigration agents fatally shooting an unarmed American has drawn national attention to one family’s yearlong search for more information.
Video and recordings released by Texas authorities are raising new questions about the Department of Homeland Security’s interpretation of the chaotic traffic scene that led to the killing of Ruben Ray Martinez.
March 15, 2025, marks nearly a year since Homeland Security Investigations agents fired at Martinez’s car at point-blank range at the scene of a late-night car crash on South Padre Island, a resort town off the south coast of Texas. Officials said Martinez, 23, accelerated his car toward the agency, a theory long disputed by his family.
For months, little was known about the incident, which involved local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Martinez, an Amazon and Walmart employee from San Antonio, became the first American killed by federal agents amid the Trump administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement.
But Martinez’s case gained attention after two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Preti, were killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January. The killings of Good and Preti have drawn scrutiny from Americans and members of Congress of both parties about the tactics of federal agents.
Their killings occurred during an ongoing immigration crackdown, but agents killed Martinez while helping local police control traffic at an intersection in a popular spring break destination.
Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, has drawn attention to her son’s case even though she says she supports President Donald Trump.
Information about Martinez’s case came to light after a watchdog group released internal documents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An internal ICE report obtained by the nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight said Martinez was “accelerated” to become an officer. HSI Supervisory Special Agent Jack Stevens told Texas authorities that he shot Martinez three times out of fear, according to the memo.
Martinez’s family and her best friend, Joshua Orta, who was the only passenger in the car, strongly dispute the government’s explanation. Lawyers for the family said video footage released by state authorities supports their suspicions, but they are seeking more evidence.
“It’s clear that ICE officials used dramatic language in their statements,” Butch Hayes, one of Reyes’ attorneys, said in an interview. “And those dramatic words don’t match the video we saw.”
On February 25, the Texas Tribune reported that a Cameron County grand jury found no probable cause to indict federal agents in the shooting. Orta, 25, died in an unrelated car accident days before the grand jury verdict.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said ICE “supports the grand jury’s unanimous decision not to find criminality.”
“This incident was independently investigated from all angles and our officers were exonerated,” Lyons said in a statement.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, which investigated the shooting and released evidence on March 6, did not respond to emailed questions. South Padre Island Police did not respond to requests for comment. It is unclear whether the federal officers involved in the shooting had body cameras.
Body-worn cameras from local police and surveillance video from local businesses paint a rough and incomplete picture of what happened at the intersection.
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement that the incident is part of a “troubling pattern” of escalating use of force, delayed disclosure of information and “misleading information about incidents involving deadly force.”
What happened in Martinez’s murder?
About a year ago, Martinez and Horta visited a friend’s condominium on South Padre Island, according to a draft witness statement provided to USA TODAY by Reyes’ attorney. Local and state investigators also interviewed Mr. Orta, whose interviews were included in state evidence released in March.
Martinez’s birthday was a few days before the shooting, and he and Orta went out for a late birthday celebration. That night, Martinez and Orta drank alcohol, stayed out of the club, and ate at Whataburger, according to Orta’s statement.
On their way back, they arrived at the accident scene. They had a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey and marijuana in the car, according to evidence records. Toxicology tests later revealed that Martinez’s blood alcohol content was 0.124%, above the legal limit, and that he also had marijuana and the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) in his system.
Orta appeared to be nervous that Martinez had been consuming alcohol in the car, and told investigators that Martinez was “nervous” and panicking toward police, police said. Orta said Martinez never intended to hurt anyone.
Surveillance footage shows Martinez’s Ford Focus driving slowly behind the ambulance as local law enforcement officers from various agencies slowed traffic. The video shows a line of cars driving in the left-turn lane, but Martinez’s car is in an empty lane near the police vehicle. Martinez brakes at several points.
In body camera footage, an officer can be heard saying he saw an open container inside Martinez’s car. In the video, the officer can be seen telling Martinez to continue. Officers from behind Martinez’s car yelled for him to stop.
According to the video, one of the officers repeatedly yelled “stop” and then “get rid of me.”
Another video shows Martinez briefly slowing down as officers waved at pedestrians as they passed. “Where is he going?” the officer at the crosswalk says to Martinez’s car. “Hey, where are you going?”
That’s when Martinez’s car rolled forward. “Hey, stop,” the police officer at the crosswalk says.
Dispute an agent’s account with video
In the middle of the intersection, two HSI agents appeared and tried to stop him.
Martinez’s car is then seen stopped. HSI Special Agent Hector Sosa can be seen standing in front of the vehicle. “The driver accelerated forward and hit himself and ended up hitting the hood of the car,” Sosa told the Texas Rangers.
The video shows Martinez’s car slowly making a left turn as officers move towards the car. Orta’s statement said Martinez turned the car around and tried to leave.
An angled video captured by The New York Times shows Sosa pushed against the front of the car, appearing to be on the hood. Orta told investigators that the car was moving slowly and that Sosa was on the hood and appeared to be tripped by the car.
Sosa’s email signature listed him as a “defensive tactics instructor coordinator” and “body-worn camera coordinator.” It is unclear whether he or Stevens had a body-worn camera when they shot Martinez. Reached by phone, Sosa declined to comment.
The video shows Stevens, who was near the driver’s window, firing into the vehicle. Orta said in a witness statement that there was no warning or command when Stevens fired at the car. Stevens did not respond to requests for comment.
In a memo to the Texas Rangers, Stevens said he smelled marijuana, could see “the driver’s eyes wide open and his fists clenched on the steering wheel,” and that Martinez was facing officers at the scene despite failing to comply with verbal commands from multiple law enforcement officers.
Ms Stevens said she was concerned for “the safety and lives of SA Sosa, myself, local police officers who were in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle’s path, and pedestrians in the area who were crossing the crosswalk or sidewalk in the vehicle’s path.” He said the 2025 vehicle ramming attack in New Orleans is “still fresh in our minds.”
Video from the aftermath of the shooting shows Stevens pulling Martinez from the car. He forced Martinez face down on the sidewalk and handcuffed him. Sosa said he removed Orta from the passenger side.
After Martinez was handcuffed, first responders began performing CPR compressions on him, according to the video. The footage shows Orta sitting in the middle of a crosswalk, on the opposite side of the car from Martinez, with his hands handcuffed behind his back.
