Ellingwood, Ken

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ELLINGWOOD, Ken

PERSONAL:

Married; children: one. Education: Graduated from Yale University; Columbia University, master's degree, 1986.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Jerusalem, Israel. Office—Foreign Bureau, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Journalist. Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, staff reporter/border correspondent, 1998-2002, bureau chief, Atlanta, GA, 2002-03, staff reporter, Jerusalem, Israel, 2003—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Best Daily News Story designation, Orange County Press Club, 1996, for coverage of California's first execution by lethal injection; Ruben Salazar Journalism Award, California Chicano News Media Association, 2002, for "Graveside with John Doe."

WRITINGS:

Hard Line: Life and Death on the U.S.-Mexico Border, Random House (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Ken Ellingwood is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. From 1998 to 2002 he covered border issues between the United States and Mexico, and he drew upon those experiences for his 2004 book, Hard Line: Life and Death on the U.S.-Mexico Border. In the work, Ellingwood looks at the history of the border region and also examines the impact of Operation Gatekeeper, a controversial 1994 policy designed to curb illegal immigration. The program successfully reduced illegal immigration in the San Diego area, but it also forced migrants farther east; hundreds died as they attempted to cross from Mexico into the United States in harsh, remote desert areas.

Critics praised Hard Line for its detailed portrayal of complex political issues, and for its compassionate portraits of those who live along the border. "Ellingwood seamlessly moves between a cogent policy analysis, an overview of the border's early history, and stories of migrants, ranchers, border patrol agents, human-rights and church activists, and members of a Native American tribe divided by the border," observed L.A. Weekly contributor Kathryn Lewis. A Publishers Weekly reviewer stated that Ellingwood "pays careful attention to the historical and economic conditions that tie the two countries together and lure so many to risk their lives for the chance at something better," and a critic in Kirkus Reviews applauded the "revealing tales of modern border dwellers: Mexican immigrants, American ranchers, and Native Americans are all captured in spare, unflinching descriptions." According to Library Journal contributor Kim L. Morrison, "Hard Line provides a much-needed and well-rounded exploration of the border issues."