When Rachel Reyes thinks about her son’s final days, she remembers how excited he was for the year ahead. Ruben Ray Martinez had just turned 23 and planned to enroll in trade school to become a mechanic. He was ready to move out of the family’s San Antonio home and had found an apartment he liked.
On March 15, 2025, Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was shot and killed during a traffic encounter in Texas by a federal agent who worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At least six people have been killed by immigration agents since President Trump’s second term began, according to reporting by The Trace.
Martinez’s mother and the public did not learn that an ICE agent was involved until months later, after American Oversight obtained records about ICE’s use-of-force practices. Among those records was an ICE incident report that said Martinez accelerated his car and struck an agent, prompting another officer to fire in what the report described as defensive shots.
Body camera videos released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, however, appear to show a different sequence. Footage reviewed by NPR shows officers standing in front of Martinez’s car as it moves slowly; it is not clear from the videos whether the vehicle struck an agent. The videos capture less than 30 seconds of the interaction: officers shouting, Martinez’s car starting to move, officers approaching the front of the vehicle, and then three shots fired in quick succession.
Reyes said the revelation that ICE was involved compounded her grief and left her feeling betrayed by law enforcement. “It’s like a constant state of unrest,” she told NPR. “There was no peace and I still don’t have peace.”
The agent who fired was identified in police reports as Homeland Security Investigations Supervisory Special Agent Jack Stevens. In a written statement to investigators, Stevens said he shot in self-defense after seeing fellow agent Hector Sosa “fall onto the hood of the vehicle.” How Sosa came into contact with the car is unclear from the released footage. Sosa told investigators he was treated for a knee injury.
Martinez had driven with a friend, Joshua Orta, to South Padre Island. The pair approached an intersection where officers from multiple agencies, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Homeland Security Investigations, were managing traffic after an earlier crash. Body camera audio includes an officer signaling Martinez to pull over and later shouting “Stop” and “Hold him.” Moments later three shots are heard.
Orta, who sat in the passenger seat, told investigators and later wrote in a statement shared with Reyes’ lawyer that Martinez was confused by conflicting orders from officers and panicked because he feared getting in trouble for driving while intoxicated. Orta said the car was “barely moving” when an officer appeared to get on the hood. He said Martinez “didn’t necessarily hit him,” more that the car “caught his feet.” In a signed statement given to Reyes’ lawyer before his death in an unrelated crash, Orta wrote, “Ruben did not hit anyone” and described an agent slapping the hood before another agent fired multiple shots from “an extremely close distance — no more than two feet.” “I heard Ruben say, ‘I’m sorry,’ and then he slumped backward,” Orta wrote.
The day after the shooting, a Texas Ranger told Reyes that her son had been fatally shot by an officer but did not say the officer worked for ICE. Reyes remembered being stunned; she described Martinez as shy, laid-back and not the kind of person who would try to hurt anyone with a car. “Ruben wouldn’t use his car to hurt anyone, ever,” she said.
A Texas grand jury later declined to indict Stevens. In a statement, ICE’s acting director said the grand jury’s unanimous decision found no criminality and that the incident had been independently investigated and the officer cleared. Democratic Representatives Robert Garcia and Greg Casar have called for an independent investigation into the shooting and into why ICE did not disclose its role earlier. Reyes’ attorney, Charles Stam, said his team is exploring legal options and accused federal agents of escalating the situation by standing in front of Martinez’s vehicle. “I think what we’ve seen is an unwillingness to admit mistakes,” he said.
Department of Homeland Security policy allows immigration agents to use deadly force when they reasonably believe a subject poses an imminent threat, but it also advises agents to avoid intentionally placing themselves in positions where they have no alternative to using deadly force. Stam said deadly force should be undertaken with solemnity, followed by thorough investigation and accountability — steps he said have not occurred.
Family and friends recall Martinez as goofy, thoughtful and caring. He loved feeding stray cats, liked fixing cars and doted on his siblings and nephew; Reyes believed he would have made a good father one day. Small details of daily life now remind her of what she has lost: the smell of burnt eggs when he was learning to perfect French toast and eggs, the FaceTime calls asking how to make them fluffy.
The months surrounding the anniversary of his death and what would have been his 24th birthday have been especially painful. Reyes continued family traditions and saved a seat for him at dinner, but the absence was stark. She is still seeking answers about what happened the night her son died and why ICE’s involvement was not disclosed sooner.
