Austin, Texas — Texas State Rep. Gina Hinojosa has formally requested the release of law enforcement footage connected to the fatal shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old San Antonio resident who was killed on March 15, 2025, during an encounter involving federal immigration agents on South Padre Island.
Hinojosa filed a request under the Texas Public Information Act and initiated a legislative oversight inquiry seeking body camera and dashcam footage from agencies involved in the incident.
Her request follows reporting based on internal federal records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the government watchdog group American Oversight.
According to internal documents reviewed by media outlets, Martinez was shot by a supervisory special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operating under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The shooting occurred while HSI agents were assisting the South Padre Island Police Department with traffic control following a separate vehicle accident.
The internal account states that Martinez allegedly failed to comply with verbal commands during the traffic situation and accelerated his vehicle, striking a federal agent who ended up on the hood.
The supervisory special agent then discharged multiple rounds through the driver’s side window.
Martinez was transported to Valley Regional Medical Center in Brownsville, Texas, where he was later pronounced dead. An injured federal agent was treated for a knee injury and released.
At the time of the incident, local media reported Martinez’s death but did not disclose that a federal immigration agent had fired the shots.
The South Padre Island Police Department later confirmed that its officers did not discharge their weapons. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) referred the investigation to the Texas Rangers, whose probe remains active.
DPS spokesperson Sheridan Nolen has previously stated that the investigation is ongoing and that no additional details are being released at this time.
In her statement, Rep. Gina Hinojosa criticized the lack of transparency surrounding the case and called on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to direct state agencies to release any available footage.
She argued that public trust requires full disclosure when a U.S. citizen dies during a law enforcement operation involving federal agents.
The shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez is among several recent fatal incidents involving federal immigration agents. In January 2026, Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was fatally shot during an immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis.
Weeks later, Alex Pretti, also 37 and a U.S. citizen, was killed in a separate enforcement operation in the same city.
Both cases have drawn national scrutiny and calls for independent review.
Texas currently houses more ICE detainees than any other state. Immigration detention facilities in Texas are operated in part by private prison companies CoreCivic and GEO Group, which manage several centers used by federal authorities.
As of this week, no body camera or dashcam footage related to the March 2025 shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez has been publicly released.
The Texas Rangers’ investigation remains open, and state and federal officials have not announced whether charges will be filed.
Rep. Gina Hinojosa stated she will continue pressing for disclosure and legislative review as the case moves forward.
