When Rachel Reyes thinks about her son’s last days, she remembers his plans and excitement. Ruben Ray Martinez had just turned 23 and was preparing to enroll in trade school to become a mechanic. He planned 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 working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Reporting by The Trace notes that at least six people have been killed by immigration agents since President Trump’s second term began.
Reyes and the public did not learn ICE was involved until months later, after records about the agency’s use of force were obtained by American Oversight. One ICE incident report said Martinez accelerated his car and struck an agent, and that another officer fired what the report described as defensive shots.
But body camera footage released by the Texas Department of Public Safety appears to tell a different story. Videos reviewed by NPR show officers standing in front of Martinez’s car as it moves slowly; they do not clearly show the vehicle striking an agent. The clips cover less than 30 seconds: officers shouting, Martinez’s car beginning to move, officers coming toward the front of the vehicle, and then three shots fired in quick succession.
Reyes said the discovery that an ICE agent was involved deepened 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.”
Police reports identify the agent who fired 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 not clear from the released footage; Sosa told investigators he was treated for a knee injury.
Martinez had driven with his friend Joshua Orta to South Padre Island. The pair arrived at an intersection where officers from several agencies, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Homeland Security Investigations, were directing traffic following an earlier crash. Body camera audio includes an officer telling Martinez to pull over and later shouting “Stop” and “Hold him.” Moments later three shots are heard.
Orta, who rode in the passenger seat, told investigators and later wrote in a statement shared with Reyes’ lawyer that Martinez had been confused by conflicting orders from officers and panicked because he feared consequences for driving while intoxicated. Orta said the car was “barely moving” when an officer appeared to get on the hood; he said the vehicle more likely “caught his feet” than struck him. In a signed statement given to Reyes’ attorney before Orta died in an unrelated crash, he 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 disclose that the officer worked for ICE. Reyes recalled being stunned; she described Martinez as shy and laid-back and said he would never use his car to hurt anyone. “Ruben wouldn’t use his car to hurt anyone, ever,” she said.
A Texas grand jury later declined to indict Stevens. 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 both the shooting and 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 person poses an imminent threat, but it also advises agents to avoid intentionally placing themselves where they have no alternative but to use deadly force. Stam said deadly force should be used with solemnity, followed by a thorough investigation and accountability — steps he says have not occurred.
Family and friends remember Martinez as goofy, thoughtful and caring. He liked fixing cars, fed stray cats and doted on his siblings and nephew; Reyes believed he would have been a good father one day. Small daily reminders now reopen the pain: the smell of burnt eggs from when he was practicing French toast, the FaceTime calls asking how to make eggs fluffy.
The months around the anniversary of his death and what would have been his 24th birthday have been especially hard. Reyes has kept family traditions and saved a seat for him at dinner, but his absence is keenly felt. She continues to seek answers about the night he died and why ICE’s role was not revealed sooner.