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A Texas Democratic lawmaker is invoking a recently created authorities legislative regularisation to unit a nationalist proceeding into the March 2025 fatal shooting of a 23-year-old U.S. national by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, a lawsuit raising further transparency and oversight questions astir the officials enforcing President Trump's deportation crackdown.
The projected proceeding would analyse the shooting decease of Ruben Ray Martinez successful South Padre Island, Texas, connected March 15, 2025. While his decease was reported astatine the time, ICE's engagement successful the shooting was not disclosed until this week, implicit 11 months aft the shooting.
Democratic Texas authorities Rep. Ray Lopez, who serves arsenic vice seat of the Texas House Committee connected Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans' Affairs, said helium formally exercised authorization nether Rule 4, Section 6A of the Texas House Rules to compel Committee Chairman Cole Hefner, a Republican, to docket a proceeding connected Martinez's death.
An undated photograph of Ruben Ray Martinez, who was fatally changeable by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement cause connected March 15, 2025, successful South Padre Island, Texas.
Rachel Reyes
Lopez said it is the archetypal nationalist usage of the provision, which was adopted during the 89th Legislative Session that concluded past June. The regularisation requires a committee seat to "promptly schedule" a proceeding designated by the vice chair. Lopez requested a written effect from Hefner by the extremity of concern connected Feb. 23. It was not instantly wide erstwhile a proceeding mightiness beryllium scheduled.
Local quality outlets successful Texas reported connected Martinez' sidesplitting past year, but the engagement of national migration agents successful the fatal shooting was archetypal revealed earlier this week by Newsweek, which utilized authorities documents precocious released by the American Oversight Project, a nonprofit morals watchdog, to link the decease with an interior ICE report.
The internal ICE report, which redacts Martinez's name, stated that the March 15 incidental progressive agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a subdivision of ICE, who were helping South Padre Island constabulary officers power postulation successful the precocious nighttime hours pursuing a large car accident.
The study describes a bluish Ford approaching the country wherever the ICE agents were directing traffic. The operator of the conveyance "failed to travel instructions," the interior study reads, and tried to proceed driving. After commands from the agents, the study said the conveyance "slowed to a stop." The agents surrounded the car and directed the operator to exit the vehicle, the study said.
The operator past "accelerated forward" and struck 1 of the ICE agents, according to the report, which said the national serviceman "wound up connected the hood of the vehicle." At that point, according to the report, different ICE cause fired "multiple rounds" astatine the operator done an unfastened broadside window. The operator was fixed archetypal assistance and past transferred to a infirmary successful Brownsville, wherever the study said helium was pronounced dead.
A rider who was successful the vehicle, besides a U.S. national whose sanction was redacted, was taken into custody astatine the country by South Padre Island police, the study states.
The cause who was struck by the conveyance was taken to an country infirmary with a genu injury, wherever they were treated and released, ICE said successful its report.
In a connection provided to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, confirmed the fatal shooting, alleging that the operator "intentionally ran implicit a Homeland Security Investigation peculiar cause resulting successful him being connected the hood of the vehicle. Upon witnessing this, different cause fired antiaircraft shots to support himself, his chap agents, and the wide public."
DHS said the incidental is nether probe by the Texas Department of Public Safety's Ranger Division, and deferred questions to Texas DPS.
Christopher Olivarez, a Texas DPS spokesperson, confirmed to CBS News Saturday that an probe was underway, adding, "We person nary further accusation to provide."
Lopez argued that national and authorities authorities failed to publically disclose ICE's engagement successful the shooting for astir a year. He said Martinez's household learned of the national agent's relation done quality reports.
"When anyone successful authorization successful immoderate level of policing, federal, state, oregon local, decides to instrumentality the astir drastic measurement and that's ending someone's life, you request to beryllium definite that you're doing it arsenic a past resort," Lopez told CBS News successful an interrogation Saturday. "I don't consciousness that the accusation that I've work implies to maine that it was a past edifice and I privation to get to the bottommost of it."
In a connection to CBS News, Martinez's mother, Rachel Reyes, said her household has been looking for accountability.
"Since Ruben's decease a twelvemonth ago, each we person wanted is justness for him and we person struggled with the soundlessness surrounding his killing," Reyes said. "Now, the state is successful situation — and, terribly, heartbreakingly, different families are enduring what we have…It's my anticipation that attraction being raised present into Ruben's decease volition assistance bring the justness we privation for him and the answers we haven't had."
Charles M. Stam and Alex Stamm, attorneys for Ruben's family, said successful a connection that "Ruben's household has been pursuing transparency and accountability for astir a twelvemonth present and volition proceed to bash truthful for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes. It is captious that determination is simply a afloat and just probe into wherefore HSI was contiguous astatine the country of a postulation collision and wherefore a national serviceman changeable and killed a US national arsenic helium was trying to comply with instructions from the section instrumentality enforcement officers directing traffic."
Reyes told The Associated Press that her lad had conscionable turned 23 days earlier helium and his champion person drove from San Antonio to South Padre Island for a play travel to celebrate. South Padre Island, located on the Gulf Coast adjacent the U.S.-Mexican border, is simply a fashionable outpouring interruption destination that draws thousands of college-aged visitors.
Reyes told the AP that her lad worked astatine an Amazon warehouse, enjoyed playing video games and spending clip with friends, and had ne'er antecedently had immoderate run-ins with instrumentality enforcement.
"He was a emblematic young guy," Reyes said. "He ne'er truly got a accidental to spell retired and acquisition things. It was his archetypal clip getting to spell retired of town. He was a bully guy, humble guy. And helium wasn't a convulsive idiosyncratic astatine all."
Martinez's decease is 1 of respective fatal shootings of U.S. citizens involving national migration agents implicit the past year. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, successful January, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were fatally changeable successful abstracted incidents portion protesting a monolithic migration cognition successful that city. Last week, the Trump medication announced it would extremity its large-scale migration enforcement cognition successful Minnesota.
Immigration enforcement has go a salient governmental issue successful caller months, peculiarly successful borderline states similar Texas, wherever national and authorities authorities often coordinate operations. Texas volition clasp its superior elections connected March 3, and migration operations person go salient issues connected the run way successful cardinal races.
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