Texas grand jury declines to indict ICE agent for killing San Antonio man last year

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CAMERON COUNTY, Texas - A Texas grand jury has declined to indict an ICE agent in the killing of a San Antonio man last year.

23-year-old Ruben Martinez was shot in March 2025 in South Padre Island.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: Texas rep calls for public hearing on alleged state cover-up of ICE shooting

What we know:

The Cameron County District Attorney's Office confirmed to FOX 7 Austin that it presented the case to the grand jury, which issued a no bill on the case.

The DA's office did not provide any other details.

What they're saying:

The Associated Press reports that attorneys for Martinez's family are calling for Texas DPS to disclose the findings of its investigation so they can "determine for themselves whether ICE’s story is accurate and why Ruben was killed that night."

An incident report from ICE described the officers’ account of what happened while they were assisting local police redirect traffic around a car accident, says the AP.

A four-door Ford with a driver and passenger approached officers, who ordered the driver to stop, the report said. Initially, the driver didn’t respond to commands but eventually came to a stop, and agents surrounded the vehicle, telling those inside to get out.

The driver then "accelerated forward" and struck an HSI special agent "who wound up on the hood of the vehicle," prompting a HSI supervisory special agent nearby to fire his weapon multiple times through the open driver’s side window, the report said.

Martinez's family's attorneys cited a draft affidavit from Joshua Orta, who was in the car with Martinez when he was shot, which they say disputes the incident report.

In the draft testimony, Orta reportedly said that Martinez did not hit an officer with his vehicle, that their 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."

However, Orta has since died in a car crash.

The backstory:

The fatal shooting of Martinez was called an "officer-involved shooting" with no agency listed in initial reports by local outlets.

Documents were then reportedly obtained by American Oversight, a nonprofit watchdog group based in Washington, that reveal the shooting happened during a Homeland Security Investigations immigration enforcement operation.

The AP says they got no answers from DHS about the 11-month silence regarding Martinez's death. 

State departments say the case is still active. The AP previously reported that the Texas Department of Public Safety declined to add new information. 

Lawmakers demand transparency, hearings

Dig deeper:

The killing has sparked demands for public hearings, investigations, and transparency from lawmakers, calling for action over the alleged cover-up.

Texas Democrats, including Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-Uvalde), vocalized their anger on social media.

Hinojosa, who is running for Governor, stated previously that she has filed a Public Information Act and a legislative oversight inquiry for the release of body camera and dashcam footage related to the fatal shooting.

State Rep. Ray Lopez (D-San Antonio) also has invoked a House rule to call for his committee on Homeland Security to convene before the public to address the fatal shooting.