Before Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Trump's ICE killed another American and never disclosed it, records reveal
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Before Renee Good and Alex Pretti, Trump's ICE killed another American and never disclosed it, records reveal")
Renee Good, Ruben Ray Martinez, Alex Pretti Photograph: (WION Web Desk)
New ICE records reveal 23-year-old US citizen Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by a federal agent in Texas in March 2025, but the incident was never publicly disclosed. DHS says he ran over an agent, while his family claims key details are being hidden. All you need to know.
Newly released documents show that a 23-year-old US citizen was shot and killed last year by a federal immigration agent during a late-night traffic encounter in Texas. Shockingly, the death was never publicly disclosed by the United States Attorney General Pam Bondi-led Department of Homeland Security. The killing of the 23-year-old American is the sixth such killing at the hands of US President Donald Trump deployed federal agents. Here's what we know.
ICE victim identified
According to an Associated Press report, US citizen Ruben Ray Martinez died on March 15, 2025, on South Padre Island. His death, now detailed in internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) records, appears to be the first of at least six fatal shootings involving federal officers since the start of President Donald Trump's renewed immigration crackdown.
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On Friday, DHS said the shooting occurred after Martinez "intentionally ran over" a Homeland Security Investigations special agent. Another agent, the department said, fired "defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public".
What happened? Here's what the internal report says
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The documents, which were obtained by American Oversight through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, include a heavily redacted, two-page ICE incident report.
According to that report, HSI officers were assisting local police shortly after midnight, redirecting traffic at a busy intersection following a crash with multiple injuries. A blue Ford with two men inside approached. Officers ordered the driver to stop. The report does not explain why.
The vehicle initially failed to respond but eventually stopped. Agents surrounded it and told the occupants to exit. The driver then "accelerated forward", which allegedly caused an HSI agent to "wound up on the hood of the vehicle," the report states.
A supervisory agent standing beside the vehicle fired multiple shots through the open driver's side window. The car came to a halt.
Paramedics already at the scene treated Martinez before he was transported to a hospital in Brownsville, where he was pronounced dead. The passenger, also a US citizen, was taken into custody. The injured agent was treated for a knee injury and released.
Victim's family reveals disturbing details
Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, said her son had travelled from San Antonio to celebrate his birthday weekend. She said that initially, the fact that a federal agent, not local police, killed her son was hidden from her. Reyes also said a Texas Rangers investigator told her there were videos of the shooting that contradicted the federal account. The state investigation, she was told, was completed in October and may be presented to a grand jury for potential criminal charges.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said Friday the case remains active. DHS, however, has yet to say anything about why no public notice was issued in the 11 months since the shooting.
