Grand Jury Doesn't Indict in Long-Unrevealed DHS Killing

UPDATE Feb 25, 2026 7:12 PM CST

A Texas grand jury declined on Wednesday to indict a federal immigration agent who shot a man in his car in South Padre Island, a death the Department of Homeland Security did not disclose for almost a year. The government accused Ruben Ray Martinez of driving into an agent. The Cameron County district attorney said in a statement that the grand jury decided against charging anyone, per the Washington Post; a DHS spokeswoman said the grand jury had "unanimously found no criminality." A state investigation into the shooting was underway but probably will end, attorneys for Martinez's mother said. "We believe that it is essential now that the Texas Department of Public Safety publicly disclose the full findings of their investigation, so that Ruben's family and the public can determine for themselves whether ICE's story is accurate and why Ruben was killed that night," they said.

Feb 21, 2026 1:03 PM CST

A federal immigration agent fatally shot a 23-year-old US citizen in his car in Texas last year, a case that was not disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security. Internal documents were made public this week, and officials confirmed the killing, after Newsweek reported ICE's involvement in the death of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23. He was shot on March 15, 2025, which would make his death the earliest of at least six fatal shootings by federal officers since the start of President Trump's immigration enforcement operation, per the AP.

Martinez was shot multiple times in South Padre Island after he did not follow the officer's commands to exit his vehicle, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents reviewed by the New York Times. A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek the shots were fired "defensively" to protect agents and bystanders. The internal documents say agents from Harlingen, Texas, were helping South Padre Island police control traffic near a car accident at the time. When they surrounded the car, the driver accelerated, striking one of them, the files say, before another agent fired multiple times through the car window.

The agent who was hit was treated at a hospital for a knee injury and released, the documents say. The Texas Rangers, part of the state's Department of Public Safety, are investigating. The FBI is not involved, officials said. Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said her family has faced "silence" around his death and is seeking justice and answers. Family attorneys called for "a full and fair investigation" into why HSI was at the crash scene and why a federal officer shot a US citizen they say was trying to follow directions from local officers directing traffic. Reyes said her son, who worked at an Amazon warehouse, had no prior run-ins with law enforcement.