U.S. Reps. Greg Casar and Robert Garcia are the latest members of Congress to demand an independent investigation into the death of Ruben Ray Martinez, a San Antonio man fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on South Padre Island.
In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, Garcia and Casar — Democrats on the House Oversight Committee — called for a probe of the 23-year-old U.S. citizen’s death along with any actions federal officials took “to conceal the facts and circumstances” surrounding it.
Casar, who represents Austin, and Garcia, who represents Long Beach, California, want a briefing from DHS no later than Monday, April 6, according to their letter. They join U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, in demanding the federal government delve further into Martinez’s shooting.
An ICE Homeland Security Investigations officer shot Martinez on March 15, 2025, but the agency’s involvement in the incident didn’t come to light until a watchdog group last month forced the release of a trove of federal immigration documents. The San Antonio man was one of 23 people shot by DHS personnel over the past 14 months, according to the two congressmen.
In emailed statement to the Current, Casar and Garcia accused DHS and the Texas Department of Public Safety of concealing ICE’s involvement in the shooting and lying about the circumstances. DHS officials allege the agent was assisting local law enforcement officials with a traffic collision when Martinez refused to obey commands and “intentionally ran over” the federal agent.
Video of the incident later released by the Texas Department of Public doesn’t show Martinez hit the ICE officer with his car. However, the clips also don’t provide clear evidence that the vehicle never came into contact with the agent.
“Mr. Martinez’s death is a tragedy that should never have happened,” Garcia and Casar said in their joint letter. “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.”
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