California Governor Gavin Newsom has raised concerns about a near year-long delay in disclosing the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Texas, according to a spokesperson.
Federal agents shot and killed 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez in South Padre Island on March 15, 2025, but the involvement of ICE was not publicly disclosed at the time. Details have since emerged through internal ICE records obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight via a Freedom of Information Act request and reviewed by Newsweek.
ICE said an agent with its Homeland Security Investigations 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.
The case appears to be the first known fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal agent during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“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,” Diana Crofts-Pelayo, Deputy Director of Communications for Newsom, told Newsweek. “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.
Newsom is widely expected to mount a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, as he continues to build a national profile beyond his home state. Earlier this year, he took what allies described as a victory lap in Texas to celebrate the passage of Proposition 50, a California ballot measure he championed, using the moment to tout the Democratic organizing effort.
Newsom has gone toe-to-toe against the Trump administration, squaring off against the president and top government officials over its aggressive deportation crackdown.
What Happened on South Padre Island?
In the early hours of March 15, 2025, HSI Harlingen BEST Maritime Group (Homeland Security Investigations, operating within the Border Enforcement Security Task Force) was assisting the South Padre Island Police Department (SPIPD) with traffic control at the site of a major vehicle accident involving multiple injuries.
According to ICE’s internal report, HSI agents were helping redirect traffic when a blue four-door Ford approached the controlled area.
“As the vehicle got closer to the special agents the driver failed to follow instructions and attempted to continue onto [redacted],” the report read. “Multiple officers gave verbal commands to the occupants to stop, the driver of the vehicle slowed to a stop, and at this point agents surrounded the vehicle and verbally commanded the driver to exit the vehicle.
“The driver accelerated forward, striking a HSI special agent who wound up on the hood of the vehicle. Upon observing this, HSI group supervisory special agent utilized his government-issued service weapon, discharging multiple rounds at the driver through the open driver’s side window.”
The report went on to say that the special agent involved was taken to a nearby hospital, treated for a knee injury, and released.
The ICE incident report reflects the agency’s internal description of events and has not been independently corroborated by Newsweek.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, for comment.
While Martinez and his passengers were not named in the report, it describes the deceased as “identified as [redacted] of San Antonio, Texas.”
Newsweek identified Martinez as the deceased individual based on local reporting at the time of the incident and contacted the man’s family for comment on Wednesday.
Local outlet KRGV in Weslaco reported that the shooting occurred around 12:40 a.m. near the intersection of Padre Boulevard and Marlin Street. The Texas Department of Public Safety did not say when Martinez died or which law enforcement agency was involved.
As of the time of reporting, state authorities had not publicly released details about what led to the incident.
South Padre Island City Manager Randy Smith previously said that officers with the South Padre Island Police Department were not the ones who discharged their weapons, according to KRGV.
Martinez was taken by emergency medical personnel to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, where he was later pronounced dead, according to internal ICE incident reports. A passenger in the vehicle was taken into custody by the South Padre Island Police Department pending charges.
Both individuals involved in the incident were identified as U.S. citizens in the ICE report.
“I can confirm that this is an ongoing investigation by the Texas Rangers, and no other information is available at this time,” Christopher Olivarez, a spokesperson with the Texas Department of Public Safety, told Newsweek.
The FBI’s San Antonio field office is not involved in the investigation, Special Agent Carmen Portillo told Newsweek.
SPID told Newsweek on Thursday that its officers were working the incident on March 15, 2025, but said the officer-involved shooting was referred to the Texas Rangers, so it could not comment further.
In an obituary posted online in 2025, Martinez’s family said they were “deeply saddened and shocked by his sudden death.”
The new details on Martinez’s death come amid a backdrop of heightened tensions as ICE is thrust into the national spotlight over use-of-force incidents following two fatal encounters involving federal agents in Minneapolis last month.
On January 7, Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old writer and mother of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent during an immigration operation in Minneapolis.
Less than three weeks later, on January 24, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, was shot and killed by Customs and Border Protection agents in Minneapolis during the same enforcement deployment. The killings sparked fierce backlash among both sides of the political spectrum and have led to widespread protests across the nation.
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