John Carlos Frey


John Carlos Frey, is a six time Emmy Award winning Mexican-American freelance investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker and published author based in Los Angeles, California. His investigative work has been featured on programs and networks such as 60 Minutes, PBS, NBC News, CBS News, the Weather Channel, Dan Rather Reports, Fusion TV, Current TV, Univision, and Telemundo. John Carlos Frey has also written articles for the Los Angeles Times, the Huffington Post, Salon, Need to Know online, the Washington Monthly, and El Diario.
John Carlos Frey is also the author of the book, Sand and Blood about the stealth war on the US Mexico border.

Personal

Frey was born in Tijuana, Mexico. His father was Swiss-American and his mother was a naturalized US citizen of Mexican descent. His family moved to San Diego, California, where he attended parochial schools, and later studied film and graduated from the University of San Diego. Early in his life, Frey sought to hide his Mexican heritage. "I wanted to pass as American, I didn’t want to accept that I was part Mexican," Frey said. "It was really easy to leave my culture behind." Frey's mother was once picked up by US Border Patrol agents and deported because she was unable to convince them of her legal status.

Career

Before becoming a documentary filmmaker and journalist, Frey was a Hollywood actor for ten years. His acting career includes roles in The Practice, Days of Our Lives, Married... with Children, JAG, Weird Science, Party of Five, and Freaky Friday, among others.

Documentaries

Frey's independently produced documentaries include Invisible Mexicans of Deer Canyon, The Invisible Chapel, The 800 Mile Wall, One Border One Body, and Life and Death on the Border.
Frey was the main correspondent for the February 15, 2013, episode of PBS's "Need To Know" titled "Outlawed In Arizona", highlighting a years-long dispute over a Mexican-American studies program in Tucson, Arizona.

Awards