A Texas Democrat is asking the Trump administration and local officials for the text messages and phone calls officers sent in the moments around the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Ruben Ray Martinez by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
In a letter first shared with Newsweek, Representative Joaquin Castro, who represents Martinez’s home city of San Antonio, called for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Freeman Martin to be transparent about what took place in South Padre Island last March.
“For nearly a year, your agencies appeared to have participated in a cover up,” Castro wrote. “Mr. Martinez’s life was tragically cut short, and his family deserves a full and complete understanding of the events leading up to his death. Mr. Martinez should not have died, and your agencies must be fully transparent about the circumstances surrounding his death.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously addressed Castro’s concerns about a cover-up, telling Newsweek that the idea that it concealed its involvement was “preposterous” and that the incident was investigated by the FBI and the Office of Professional Responsibility.
The Texas Department of Public Safety told Newsweek that “the Texas Rangers’ investigation is complete, and all findings were submitted to the Cameron Co. District Attorney’s Office.”
Why It Matters
Democrats in Congress have repeatedly claimed that DHS is keeping vital information from lawmakers when it comes to immigration enforcement and the actions of federal agents. Similar calls for investigations and transparency followed the fatal shootings by federal agents of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January, with local officials facing hurdles accessing federal agency information.
Details around Martinez’s death were relatively vague until Newsweek revealed the ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) link a week ago, prompting concerns that federal and local authorities had failed to be transparent in their reporting of the incident.
What To Know
Martinez, 23, died in South Padre Island on March 15, 2025. Reporting at the time said he was involved in an officer-involved shooting, but the ICE-HSI agent’s involvement was not known.
That detail was uncovered as part of a Newsweek analysis of ICE records obtained this month through a Freedom of Information Act request by American Oversight. The document includes an account from ICE, which alleges Martinez tried to run an agent down during a traffic incident, and another fired defensive shots through the driver’s side window.
Castro and other Democrats argue the information should have been made public at the time.
In his letter, the congressman accused authorities of concealing the fact that an ICE agent shot and killed Martinez, and of pushing a narrative that is disputed by an eyewitness account—that of his childhood friend and passenger Joshua Orta, who died last weekend.
Orta claimed in the written statement that his friend had been driving slowly through traffic, tried to obey local law enforcement orders to turn around, and then federal agents approached the vehicle. It was at this point that Martinez was shot, Orta said, and then dragged from the car onto the ground, where he was handcuffed before any medical treatment was given.
“Taken together, the concealment and the contradictory accounts raise serious questions about the credibility of the narrative provided by DHS and underscore the need for independent, transparent oversight,” Castro wrote.
He called for the release of all body-worn camera footage from the scene, all radio, text, and phone communications between officers before and after the shooting, all information on both departments’ investigations, and all communications between the two departments and their respective agencies.
On Wednesday, a Texas grand jury opted not to indict the agent in question, seemingly concluding the local investigation into the matter.
Castro previously told Newsweek that he did not believe any attempt had been made by DHS to notify Congress of the death. There is no law that requires DHS to notify Congress if ICE kills a U.S. citizen.
What People Are Saying
Representative Joaquin Castro, in his letter: “The Martinez family and the public must know why this cover up was allowed to fester for nearly a year. We must know the truth without further delay.”
A DHS spokesperson, in a statement to Newsweek Wednesday: “Every use of force incident and any discharge of an ICE firearm must be properly reported and reviewed by the agency in accordance with agency policy, procedure, and guidelines. All shootings are initially reviewed by an appropriate law enforcement agency. Following a review of the incident by the appropriate investigative agency, ICE will conduct an independent review of the critical incident.”
Attorneys Charles M. Stam, Alex Stamm, and Butch Hayes, who are representing Martinez’s mother, told Newsweek: “Ruben’s family is devastated. They are proud Americans, strong supporters of law enforcement, and Trump voters. They believe there are honest and decent officers out there. They just want to be treated honestly and decently.
“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.”
What Happens Next
Castro has sent his letter to both authorities, urging them to respond promptly.
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