Omar Ornelas is a Mexican photojournalist based in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
He has been reporting on and photographing farmworker labor, education, health and housing issues in California, Texas, and Arizona, as well as border security and Mexican and Central American migratory flows at the U.S.-Mexico border, for the USA TODAY Network.
A photojournalist at the El Paso Times, Ornelas has led award-winning coverage of record migrant deaths, the Haitian migrant crisis, and the Trump-era Migrant Protection Protocols. His work has earned numerous honors, including Star Photojournalist of the Year (2023) and recognition from the Scripps Howard Journalism Awards.
Ornelas is bilingual in English and Spanish, a licensed drone pilot, and skilled in multimedia production.
