Franco Ordoñez is The Charlotte Observer minority affairs reporter. He has written about lawyers taking advantage of undocumented immigrants, companies that abuse the Social Security system, and the political debate between comprehensive immigration reform and greater enforcement. He recently completed a two month stint as a foreign correspondent in Mexico, writing for all of McClatchy newspapers, including the Observer, Miami Herald, and Seattle Times. Prior to the Observer, Franco worked three years at the Boston Globe covering municipal government and immigration and at Newsweek magazine where he was one of a team of reporters reporting from ground zero immediately following the 9/11 attacks. His work has been recognized by the American Society of News Editors, Society of American Business Editors and Writers and the N.C. Press Association.