Family Holds Vigil for San Antonio Man Killed by ICE Agent

A Year of Unanswered Questions

One year after Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, died at a Brownsville hospital in March 2025 after he was shot by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jack Stevens , his family and supporters gathered in San Antonio to honor his memory while demanding answers that remain elusive. Protesters rallied in front of San Antonio City Hall a day before the one-year mark of Martinez's death, calling for an independent investigation into the shooting .

The vigil comes amid growing controversy over what many officials are calling a cover-up. Martinez's death was initially reported by various local news outlets as an officer‑involved shooting, but authorities did not publicly disclose ICE's role in the incident for nearly a year, and the federal agency's involvement only became public after the watchdog group American Oversight shared DHS records with Newsweek . Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said her son was just days past his 23rd birthday when he and his best friend drove from San Antonio down to the beach for the weekend to celebrate .

"Since Ruben's death a year ago, all we have wanted is justice for him and we have struggled with the silence surrounding his killing," Reyes said . The family's pain has been compounded by what they see as deliberate obfuscation from federal authorities.

Conflicting Accounts Emerge

New evidence released in recent weeks paints a dramatically different picture than the official government narrative. Attorneys for Martinez's family said that the evidence calls U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)'s account into question: "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" .

Martinez's only passenger, Joshua Orta, disputed official claims in a written statement, saying Martinez's car was "just crawling" and that a federal agent fired into the driver's side window without giving any warning, commands, or opportunity to comply. "Ruben never hit the gas," Orta said, contradicting official reports that claimed Martinez struck an officer . Tragically, Orta died in a high-speed car crash last month, KSAT previously reported, prior to a grand jury hearing for the shooting .

A Cameron County grand jury ruled the shooting a justifiable homicide , though it is unclear if the interview was provided to the grand jury . The timing of Orta's death has raised additional questions about the case's handling.

Political Pressure Mounts

The case has sparked outrage from local and federal officials who are demanding transparency. Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has called for a congressional investigation, highlighting both the delay in public disclosure and the unusual circumstances of federal agents conducting traffic control at an accident scene. Representative Ray Lopez has also urged an independent review of the case .

San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro on Friday accused ICE and the Texas Department of Public Safety of "an organized cover-up of the shooting" while speaking with news media on Friday. He also called for a federal investigation into this shooting and said his office was reaching out to Martinez's family . The Martinez killing appears to be the earliest fatal shooting of an American citizen by a federal agent during the current administration's immigration enforcement campaign, predating the widely reported January 2026 killing of Renée Good in Minneapolis by nearly 10 months .

The family's attorneys have made clear their determination to continue fighting. "Ruben's family has been pursuing transparency and accountability for nearly a year now and will continue to do so for as long as it takes," said Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm, attorneys for the family of Ruben Ray Martinez. "It is critical that there is a full and fair investigation into why HSI was present at the scene of a traffic collision and why a federal officer shot and killed a US citizen as he was trying to comply with instructions from the local law enforcement officers directing traffic" .

A Family's Quest for Justice

As the vigil demonstrated, this case represents more than just one family's tragedy—it has become a symbol of broader concerns about federal accountability and transparency. Mayor Ortiz-Jones questioned how many similar cases may exist, asking: How many more Ruben Ray Martinezes are out there? "We deserve to know what happened. We deserve to know. Everybody in our community deserves to be safe, no matter who they are — and then certainly have answers when somebody, one of their loved ones, one of their neighbors, is killed," Ortiz-Jones said .

Martinez worked at an Amazon warehouse, liked to play video games and hang out with friends. His mother said he had never had any