Raskin and Jayapal write that DHS made false or unsubstantiated allegations about Ruben Ray Martinez and others its agents shot
Jamie RaskinU.S. representative for Maryland and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee
Jamie Raskin and Pramila Jayapal wrote to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella on July 30, 2026 that DHS made false and unsubstantiated allegations about people its agents shot, including Ruben Ray Martinez, and that later evidence contradicted DHS's claims that they were attacking officers. They asked DHS to equip every agent with a functioning body-worn camera and to hold agents accountable who do not turn them on.
“DHS and its component agencies have consistently made false and unsubstantiated allegations about people its agents shot, including Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Ruben Ray Martinez, and Marimar Martinez. DHS initially claimed these U.S. citizens, all of whom they either killed or maimed, were attacking law enforcement officers. In each case, evidence later emerged that definitively contradicted the government's claims, showing that DHS made false or misleading statements.”
Original text
Where this statement fits
Was HSI Special Agent Jack Stevens justified in fatally shooting Ruben Ray Martinez?
On March 15, 2025, Jack Stevens, a Homeland Security Investigations supervisory special agent, fired three shots through the driver-side window of Ruben Ray Martinez's car during a traffic stop on South Padre Island, Texas. Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, later died. Stevens told investigators he fired after Martinez's car struck fellow agent Hector Sosa, knocking him onto the hood, and that he feared for the safety of Sosa, himself, other officers and pedestrians. Released Texas Rangers records describe the car as "slowly driving forward" when Stevens fired, and body-camera footage shows the car moving very slowly or not at all, with its brake lights on, though the footage does not show the front of the car or whether it struck Sosa. Joshua Orta, the passenger and sole surviving witness, said before his own death in a February 2026 car crash that the car was "just crawling" and that Martinez did not hit anyone. A Cameron County grand jury declined to indict Stevens on February 25, 2026, and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said the agency stands by that finding. Reps. Greg Casar and Robert Garcia have since asked DHS's inspector general to investigate, alleging DHS concealed and misrepresented the circumstances of the shooting for nearly a year. The dispute is whether Stevens's use of deadly force was justified.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
The lawmakers' body-camera demand and criticism of DHS shooting accounts.
Before the quotation
The letter followed the fatal ICE shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine in July 2026 and DHS's announcement that all agents would have functioning body-worn cameras within 60 days.
After the quotation
The letter says House Judiciary Republicans rejected an amendment on July 21, 2026 that would have required all agents to wear body-worn cameras.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether Stevens was justified in shooting Martinez. The letter says DHS claimed Martinez and other U.S. citizens its agents killed or maimed were attacking officers, and that evidence later definitively contradicted those claims. That rejects the justification offered for the shooting, so we labeled it Condemned. Challenged the characterization is the closest competing label; it loses because the letter goes beyond disputing a description and treats the killing as resting on claims it calls false.
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The Dispute Index. "Raskin and Jayapal write that DHS made false or unsubstantiated allegations about Ruben Ray Martinez and others its agents shot". First published: 2026-10-06. Last updated: 2026-10-06. https://disputeindex.com/events/4965-jamie-raskin-and-pramila-jayapal-wrote-to-dhs