Trump's Trials - Nearly a year after her son's death, she learned ICE was responsible

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

On March 15, 2025, Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a traffic encounter in Texas. NPR's Juliana Kim reports.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. President Trump promised every single American that he would make America safe again. Every single day in the Oval Office, the president looks at us and says, why haven't we done more? This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power. Here's the latest from NPR. I'm Elsa Chang.

In March of last year, a man named Rubin Ray Martinez was fatally shot by an immigration agent in Texas. He was 23. He was from San Antonio and he was a U.S. citizen. His death came about a year before federal agents killed Renee MacLan Good and Alex Pretti in separate incidents in Minneapolis. But critical details about Martinez's killing have only emerged recently. NPR's Juliana Kim spoke to his mother, Rachel Reyes, who believes his death could have been avoided. Reyes says her son was only supposed to be away from home for one night.

But the next day, instead of seeing him come home, a Texas ranger knocked on her door. Then he told me to sit down and he was like on behalf of the state of Texas, I regret to inform me that your son, Ruben Martinez, died last night. Ruben Ray Martinez had been shot and killed by a federal agent during a traffic encounter in South Texas. The agent worked for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of immigration and customs enforcement. Reyes didn't know about this crucial detail for nearly a year. It only came to light after a public records request filed by the watchdog group American oversight. At the time, the group was seeking documents related to ICE's use of force. ICE would later say that Martinez accelerated his car and struck a federal agent, prompting another officer to fire

defensive shots. But NPR reviewed body camera footage released by the Texas Department of Public Safety that seemed to show a different version of events. In that footage, federal agents appear to stand in front of Martinez's car as it slowly moves forward and to the left. It's unclear from the videos reviewed by NPR whether the vehicle hit an agent. It seems so it could have been another way. It could have been handled another way. I feel like they didn't give him a chance. Martinez is believed to be the first person to be fatally shot by an immigration agent since the start of President Trump's second term. Reyes says losing her son was devastating enough. But the recent revelations about ISIS involvement and how the agency characterized the moments leading up to her son's death have made grieving more painful.

It's like a constant state of unrest. You know, like I just don't, there was no peace. I still don't have peace. In late February, a grand jury in Texas declined to bring criminal charges. against the federal agent who shot Martinez. Since then, some Democrats on the House Oversight Committee have called for an independent investigation into his death. Acting ICE director Todd Lyon said in a statement to NPR, the agency stands by the grand jury's decision. He adds, the incident was investigated by an independent body and it cleared the officer. Reyes's attorney, Charles Stan,

believes there needs to be more accountability. He says federal agents escalated the situation, by standing in front of Martinez's car. Something went horribly wrong, and no mistake that Rubin made justified that kind of violence. Reyes says her son was never an aggressive person. Far from it, he was shy and laid back. Before his death, Reyes says her son planned to enroll in trade school to become a mechanic. He also felt ready to move out of his family's house and had found an apartment he liked. I don't know. I'm just thinking of it's just so sad that he didn't get a chance to

experience much and it just hit me. Reyes says her son was looking forward to reaching all these new milestones and she was just as excited to witness them. Julianne Kim, NPR News. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters,

who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.