DHS confirms ICE agent shot, killed driver during spring break on South Padre Island
HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed to Border Report that special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were involved in the shooting death of a man during spring break on South Padre Island.
In a statement to Border Report on Friday, a DHS spokesperson said an officer shot at the man’s vehicle on the popular island resort “to protect himself” after the vehicle’s driver failed to slow down and struck an agent at a traffic accident they were helping local police to contain.
“On March 15, 2025, Homeland Security Investigation special agents were assisting the South Padre Island Police Department with traffic control after a major accident. A driver of a blue Ford intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent resulting in him being on the hood of the vehicle. Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public. The driver was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased,” the DHS spokesperson said.
The statement came after Newsweek on Wednesday reported the fatal shooting, citing internal ICE records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
Newsweek reported that Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, a U.S. citizen from San Antonio, was killed after a supervisory agent with HSI fired into the window of the vehicle Martinez was driving.
Although Martinez’s death was reported in local news media at the time, the reports did not identify HSI involvement or disclose that a federal agent fired the shots through the driver-side window.

The DHS spokesperson said “the agent who was ran over sustained a knee injury and was taken to the hospital.”
Border Report has asked whether the supervisory agent was put on administrative leave and why the incident was not previously disclosed.
We’re told: “This incident is under active investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety Ranger Division.”
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].
