Border Justice Fellows, 2003-2004

Luke Turf
Border/Immigration Reporter
Tucson Citizen

Luke Turf works as the border/immigration reporter for the Tucson (AZ) Citizen, a post he has held since November 2002. Prior to that, he covered the border for the Yuma (AZ) Daily Sun, which earned him both first and third place awards for environmental reporting from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association. He was also a runner-up in Gannett Newspapers’ Best Beat Reporting for coverage of immigration and Mexican border issues. He holds a bachelor’s in journalism, with a minor in photography, from Northern Arizona University.

Fellowship Project:

• 18th illegal crossing leads to grim desert search; Rafael Martinez Ruiz was one of about 200 who died in southern Arizona in 2003, symbols of two nations' economic struggle.
• Desert yields brother's bones; Three scorching days of searching leads to the lonely spot where Rafael Ruiz perished; Discovery evokes a mixture of anguish and relief
• Identifying Rafa: Absence of medical or dental records hampers the process
• Finally at Peace: Rafa mourned by kin, friends he helped during his life

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