2023 Q4 Picture Story

DEAN RUTZ, Quarter 3 Judge

First Place: We’ve seen a lot of approaches to border stories, but this is exceptional in its ability to convey the masses of people on the border, and what it means to be an individual among a collective of misfortune. A series of great images that runs heavy on pattern.

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First Place: Robert Gauthier, LOS ANGELES Times

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, Calif. — For the last three months, residents in this remote border community in southeastern San Diego County have seen their population nearly double, climbing from 600 to 1,200 as migrants from around the globe cross over from Mexico.They cross into the punishing desert terrain at a point where the 30-foot steel border wall erected across the county in the Trump era abruptly ends, transitioning to erratic fencing and boulders riddled with gaps.Once on American soil, the migrants subsist in makeshift open-air camps, where the number of tents are not nearly enough for the number of migrants. For warmth, they huddle around campfires fueled by brush and felled trees. When it’s time to sleep, many are left to rely on plastic tarps and thin blankets to shelter them from the wind and nighttime lows that can fall below 40 degrees.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers line up to receive wristbands from a U.S. Border Patrol agent as they wait for days at a makeshift camp on the border.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, Friday, November 24, 2023 - A Border Patrol agent enters a makeshift camp where hundreds of migrants wait for transport.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers from China gather kindling for a small campfire as they wait days with hundreds of other migrants at a makeshift camp located on land owned by Jerry Shuster. Although he’s sympathetic to their plight, Shuster has felt helpless as migrants stripped his land of manzanita and other native flora for firewood.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Tatiana Bermudez shelters her daughter, Lucy Maria, 7, from rain and cold as they wait for U.S. Border Patrol to transport them from a makeshift camp.The migrants camped near Jacumba Hot Springs made their way there from multiple countries, including China, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru. They said they came fleeing violence or in search of a new life.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers swarm a truck delivering hot food that was prepared, cooked and delivered by a small group of local volunteers. Volunteers say an average of 500 migrants are now living in three camps in the area on any given day. On Thanksgiving Day, they were overwhelmed by the number of people who remained at the camp by dinnertime and 50 migrants went without food.“It really just became an avalanche,” said resident Samuel Schultz, who is coordinating with advocacy organizations to get supplies to the camps.Ten weeks ago, he said, the volunteers were the only source of water for migrants as temperatures soared above 100 degrees in the Mountain Empire. Now, he said, they are the only source of protection in rugged winter conditions.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 Traveling vendors in Mexico sell pastries to migrants camped on the U.S. side of the border wall. Asylum seekers from China, South America and the Middle East wait near the border wall, often wait days to be transported by the U.S. Border Patrol.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers from China, Colombia and the Middle East camp near the border wall, often waiting days to be transported by the U.S. Border Patrol. For the last three months, residents in this remote border community in southeastern San Diego County have seen their population nearly double, climbing from 600 to 1,200 as migrants from around the globe cross over from Mexico.They cross into the punishing desert terrain at a point where the 30-foot steel border wall erected across the county in the Trump era abruptly ends, transitioning to erratic fencing and boulders riddled with gaps.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers receive hot stew prepared hours earlier by local volunteers who collect donations including clothing, blankets, water and produce. “It really just became an avalanche,” said resident Samuel Schultz, who is coordinating with advocacy organizations to get supplies to the camps.Ten weeks ago, he said, the volunteers were the only source of water for migrants as temperatures soared above 100 degrees in the Mountain Empire. Now, he said, they are the only source of protection in rugged winter conditions.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers from China anxiously line up to receive colored wrist bands from a U.S. Border Patrol agent. Agent’s use the wrist bands as a marker to indicate how long someone has occupied the camp.Jacumba Hot Springs is not an official U.S. Customs and Border Protection detention site. But the sheer number of migrants crossing the border day after day has made it an unofficial one. The Border Patrol has stationed field agents nearby to keep watch over the camp, and migrants say authorities have told them to wait there for transfer to an official processing facility. Border Patrol gives them wristbands printed with the day they arrived. Often, women and children get picked up quickly. But for many others, their time at the camps can stretch for days.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CA, Friday, November 24, 2023 - A migrant family from Colombia huddles in the darkness, awaiting transport from the U.S. Border Patrol. Asylum seekers from China, South America and the Middle East wait near the border wall, often waiting days to be transported by the U.S. Border Patrol. Many are deported and sent back home.

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JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, Friday, November 24, 2023 - Asylum seekers from China, Colombia and the Middle East camp near the border wall, often waiting days to be transported by the U.S. Border Patrol.Wu Heng, 28, smoked a cigarette as the sun began to set over a camp near Interstate 8. The wind was picking up, and he and his 55-year-old father had not secured a tent for the night. Their camp was exposed.Wu said he had worked for an electronics company in Sichuan province and hoped to go to Los Angeles to start a new life. Like other migrants, he said he was given little information about how long they would be on hold at the camp. On Saturday night, temperatures fell to 39 degrees.On Sunday morning, he sent a plea to a reporter. “It’s so cold here,” he said, and they were still without a tent. Could someone please get them one?

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Second Place: Chris Torres, Fort Worth Star Telegram

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Mohmmad Waist, left, and Mohamed Amini, Afghan refugees who fled Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, sit together and enjoy milk tea under the American and Afghan flags in Amini’s apartment living room in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.Most Afghan refugees, who are still fleeing their country after the Taliban takeover, eventually get resettled in the U.S.World Relief said the organization has settled around 540 refugees in the Dallas-Fort Worth area during the 2023 fiscal year with around 40% of those being from Afghanistan.Former educator Angie Kraus started her own nonprofit dedicated to helping Afghan refugees in Fort Worth get their lives started.Kraus’s nonprofit is called Amsheera, which means “sister” in the Dari language of Afghanistan. She helps the families get settled with a place to live along with providing them with food, home appliances and even access to medical services.Now, Kraus has more than 170 families on her Google Sheets spreadsheet, and new names get added regularly. The calendar squares in her planner overflow with handwritten reminders to visit new families, take someone to a doctors appointment or help register newly-arrived children in school.“I’m equipped to do this job,” Kraus said. “I’m so thankful to God - this is my purpose.”

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Angie Kraus, the founder of her nonprofit Amshera, buys milk for Afghan families at the Afghan Halal Market in Fort Worth. Kraus volunteers her time and money to assist Afghan refugees staring their new life in Fort Worth after they fled country following the Taliban takeover in 2021.

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Aziza, an Afghan refugee who fled her country when the Taliban took over in 2021, holds her 7-month-old sleeping baby in her apartment in Fort Worth. Aziza asked Angie to help supply her with a bed for her baby as she begins to get settled in her new home.

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The planner of Angie Kraus, the founder of her nonprofit Amshera, filled out with her tasks throughout the coming weeks. Kraus volunteers her time and money to assist Afghan refugees staring their new life in Fort Worth after they fled country following the Taliban takeover in 2021.

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Hoomayoon Samadi, an Afghan refugee who fled Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, walks back to the car with Angie Kraus after buying rugs for another Afghan family at Ross in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023.

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Nilofar Safi, left, helps Angie Kraus carry diapers, an iron and a tea kettle up to Aziza’s apartment in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.

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Dentist Stan Fitzer works on Mohamed Amini, an Afghan refugee who fled Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, at Cornerstone Assistance Network in Fort Worth.

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Mohamed Amini, an Afghan refugee who fled Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, in his apartment living room in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. Mohamed was part of the armed forces helping Americans when he lived in Afghanistan. His work made him a target for the Taliban which led to him and his family fleeing the country.

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Omar Wahidi, 12, shows the bandaids from vaccines given to him in his right arm. Wahidi’s family fled from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. In order for him to attend school, he needed to receive all the required medical vaccinations.

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Mohammad Wasiq, a translator and Afghan refugee, tries to remember the English translation while speaking to the receptionist at Cornerstone Assistance Network in Fort Worth.

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Angie Kraus, the founder of her nonprofit Amshera, knocks on the apartment door of an Afghan family after getting supplies and rugs for them in Fort Worth. Kraus volunteers her time and money to assist Afghan refugees staring their new life in Fort Worth after they fled country following the Taliban takeover in 2021.

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Angie Kraus, the founder of her nonprofit Amshera, hugs Khatima Amini after getting groceries together at the Afghan Halal Market in Fort Worth. Kraus volunteers her time and money to assist Afghan refugees staring their new life in Fort Worth after they fled country following the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Third Place: Aude Guemucci, Freelance

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English Bay Masters Swim and Whiskey Jacks waterpolo swimmers from Vancouver react during the pink flamingo competition, at the Gay Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on November, 9 2023.

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Members of Cheer New York Pom practice their routine before the final of the cheerleading competiton at the Gay Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on November 8, 2023.

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Tom Dane and Kevin Haycock participate in the final of the 45 + Men dance competition at the Gay Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on November 7, 2023.

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Mariachi encourage the 5K runners at the Gay Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on November 10, 2023.

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Yang José and Chang Shang Chiang from Taiwan, participate in the Men's Double B+ badmington competition at the Gay Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on November 9, 2023.

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Members of the London Titans Football Club celebrate their gold medal in the division 2 of the soccer tornament of the Gay Games in Guadalajara, Mexico on November 10, 2023.

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Johnny Manzon-Santos and Alan Lessik rehearse among other participants before an ice-skating competition of the Gay Games in Guadalajara, Mexico on November 8, 2023.

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A volleyball quarter final during the Gay Games in Guadalajara, Mexico on November 9, 2023.

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Miriam Meister and Angela Pikarski participate in the final of the 18 + women latin dance competition at the Gay Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on November 7, 2023.

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Swimmers react of the podium at the Gay Games, in Guadalajara, Mexico, on November 7, 2023.

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HM: Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star

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Jockey Junior Alvarado (12) riding Just FYI wins the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies (Grad 1) race during the Breeders Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Friday, November 3, 2023.

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Horses race during the Breeders Cup Juvenile (Grade 1) during the Breeders Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Friday, November 3, 2023.

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A man smokes a cigar during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Jockey Florent Geroux, left, riding Idiomatic wins the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (Grade 1) during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Fans and their shadows during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Fans silhouetted make their way to the grandstands during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Jockey Junior Alvarado (3) riding Cody’s Wish wins the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (Grade 1) ahead of jockey Flavien Prat (9) riding National Treasure during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Fans wearing colorful hats during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates riding White Abarrio and winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade 1) during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates after riding White Abarrio and winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade 1) during the Breeders’ Cup 2023 World Championships at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

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Meet Our Judge, RoSS FRANKLIN

Dean Rutz is a 35-year veteran of The Seattle Times, joining the newspaper in 1988 as Picture Editor. His ability to see the potential of images in print saw his job evolve into page design and headline writing, and during those years The Seattle Times routinely finished among the top three newspapers in NPPA’s Best Use of Pictures contest.

Rutz’s ability to coordinate photographers in the field saw him work increasingly remotely on major sporting events, first building darkrooms, and later organizing on site production in the early days of digital cameras.

From there it was a straight line back into photography with Rutz either editing or shooting nine Olympic Games, and countless sporting championships. Today he is the Times’ lead sports photographer and was recently honored by the Seattle Sports Commission with the Keith Jackson Media Excellence Award, the only photographer to have received that honor.

He lives in Lake Forest Park with his wife, Karen – also a staff photographer at The Seattle Times – and their dogs.

Previously, Rutz was a staff photographer at the Washington (DC) Times, the Palm Beach (FL) Post, and the Cincinnati (OH) Enquirer.