A federal immigration agent shot and killed a US citizen in Texas in 2025, months before the US government launched deportation operations in Minnesota that later resulted in two further deaths, according to records released this week.
Twenty-three-year-old Ruben Rey Martinez was killed by agents from the United States Department of Homeland Security, family lawyers said. An agent fired multiple shots at Martinez on 15 March 2025 after he allegedly struck another officer with his vehicle.
According to the non-profit watchdog American Oversight, agents were assisting local police with traffic control following a road accident on South Padre Island. Records indicate the agents were also conducting immigration checks at the scene.
Martinez’s death appears to be the first involving a US citizen during enforcement operations initiated after President Donald Trump returned to office. In January alone, federal agents shot at least five people, including Alex Preti and Renee Good during deportation-related operations in Minnesota.
Family calls for full investigation
Family attorneys Charles and Alem Stamm said Martinez had been attempting to follow instructions from local police when he was shot, and called for a “full and fair investigation”.
“Ruben’s family has been seeking transparency and accountability for nearly a year and will continue that fight for as long as it takes,” the lawyers said in a statement.
Martinez was transported to a hospital in Brownsville, Texas, where he later died from his injuries. The agent who was struck by the vehicle sustained a knee injury, received hospital treatment and was subsequently discharged, according to official reports.
Watchdog cites sharp rise in use of force
Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said the newly released records “paint a deeply troubling picture” of enforcement tactics used by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“In the first months of this administration, ICE’s own data show a dramatic increase — nearly 400% — in use-of-force incidents, with people hospitalised, bystanders swept up in operations, and even the death of a US citizen,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Department said Martinez had “intentionally struck” an agent with his vehicle and that a colleague opened fire in self-defence.
The incident is under investigation by the elite Texas Rangers division of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the spokesperson added.