Two House Democratic lawmakers this week requested that the Trump administration approve an independent investigation into the death of Ruben Ray Martinez, a Texan who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last year.
In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, Reps. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) alleged that DHS and Texas investigators “withheld basic facts of the case, concealed ICE’s involvement in the shooting, and lied about the circumstances surrounding the shooting.”
“The pattern of lies to cover up DHS misconduct is well-documented,” the lawmakers wrote on Tuesday. “DHS’s repeated lies and omissions about the shooting of Mr. Martinez reflect a troubling pattern in which official statements about the use of lethal force are later challenged by video footage, witness testimony, or subsequent investigations.”
Garcia and Casar, who both sit on the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the House oversight committee, requested a briefing from the inspector general’s office on the matter by April 6. The development comes as ICE has been under sweeping scrutiny for a series of deadly shootings involving U.S. citizens in recent months. The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota have been among those critics say mark the agency’s tendency to escalate sensitive situations by deploying unnecessary lethal force.
Martinez died hours after he approached the scene of a traffic incident in which ICE officers were assisting local law enforcement on March 14, 2025.
DHS, which oversees ICE, has said Martinez intentionally rammed his vehicle into an ICE Homeland Security Investigations officer, justifying the fatal shooting of the U.S. citizen on South Padre Island. The DHS claimed Martinez “intentionally ran over” an HSI special agent, provoking another agent to fire “defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.”
Critics have called the determination into question, citing recently released body camera footage, among other concerns. Attorneys for Martinez’s family have pointed to a draft affidavit from the passenger, Joshua Orta, in the car with Martinez when he was shot, according to KUSI News. In a lengthy statement given to lawyers, Orta said the car was “crawling,” that Martinez did not hit an officer with his vehicle, and that a federal agent fired into the car without “giving any warning, commands, or opportunity to comply.”
ICE’s incident report claimed the vehicle “accelerated forward” and struck an HSI special agent, “who wound up on the hood of the vehicle.” A Texas grand jury declined last month to bring indictments in the case. Orta died in a car crash shortly before the jury rejected criminal charges.
Rachel Reyes said she first learned her son had been shot by a federal officer, rather than local police, about a week after he was killed, according to NBC News. She was contacted by an investigator from the Texas Rangers, who she said told her there were videos of the shooting that contradicted the account provided by federal agents.
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Earlier this month, footage of the incident became publicized, with Martinez’s family arguing that they proved DHS exaggerated the danger the 23-year-old posed and responded to the incident with unnecessary force.
“These new videos confirm that Ruben’s car was barely moving when he was shot. That he was braking, not accelerating. That nobody was on the hood of his car. That nobody was in front of his car when he was shot. That he was shot at point-blank range through his side window by an ICE agent who was in no danger,” the family’s lawyers told CBS.