COLLEGE FOOTBALL LSU, Tulane ink recruits on national signing day 1C
N O L A.C O M
|
T h u r s d ay, d e c e m b e r 4, 2025
$2.00X
Border Patrol launches operations in N.O. region
Nelson to lead La. community college system Landry Cabinet member served as Department of Revenue secretary
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
roof were put in handcuffs and carted away, according to Vallotton, the neighbor and immigration advocacy group Union Migrante. “My doorstep would have been the last place I’d have thought (Border Patrol) would have showed up,” Vallotton said as she stood amid the piles of cardboard, tarps and roofing materials scattered
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System on Wednesday selected its new president, giving the top job to Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson. Nelson will begin leading the state’s community college system, which includes 12 schools, effective Jan. 1. “Secretary Nelson is a problem solver, a bridge builder, and a leader who recognizes the critical role our colleges play in every region of Louisiana,” Tim Hardy, chair of the LCTCS board, said in a statement. Nelson has been at the helm of the Department of Revenue since early 2024, when he was tapped to lead the agency by Gov. Jeff Landry. He is a former state representative from Mandeville who ran for governor in 2023 but dropped out and endorsed Landry. Current President Monty Sullivan in October an- Nelson nounced he would retire early next year. He was appointed to the role in 2014. “Under Dr. Sullivan’s leadership, LCTCS nearly doubled its number of graduates, tripled foundation assets, and invested more than $500 million in new and modernized training facilities across the state,” said an October news release announcing the departure. Nelson has collected a diverse array of educational, professional and political experiences over the years. Most recently, leading the state’s tax agency, he spearheaded a plan backed by Landry to slash the state’s individual and corporate income tax rates, replacing the lost revenue with a half-cent increase to the sales tax rate. That was accomplished in a special session late last year. Before his bid for governor, during which tax reform was a signature issue, Nelson served in the Louisiana House beginning in 2020. As a state lawmaker, Nelson eschewed culture-war fights in favor of policy debates.
ä See KENNER, page 5A
ä See NELSON, page 8A
STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER
U.S. Border Patrol agents detain and handcuff a man on Williams Boulevard in Kenner as they begin their ‘Catahoula Crunch’ sweeps around the New Orleans metro area on Wednesday. It wasn’t immediately clear why the unidentified man was being detained.
On first day of sweeps, agents made arrests at stores, worksites; some businesses serving immigrants closed INSIDE
BY JAMES FINN Staff writer
Federal agents on Wednesday launched immigration enforcement sweeps across the New Orleans region, targeting south Louisiana as the next host of the escalating immigration crackdown from President Donald Trump’s administration. Agents detained dozens of people outside home improvement stores, in shopping mall parking lots and at worksites in residential neighborhoods, according to eyewitnesses, immigrant rights groups and reporters who viewed some of the arrests. One witness described agents
ä Moreno ‘disturbed’ by Border Patrol activity in other cities. Page 5A ä ACLU files suit challenging state law blocking interference with immigration agents. Page 8A rounding up two dozen day laborers outside a Lowe’s. Videos that circulated on social media showed agents surrounding workers atop a house under construction in Kenner.
ä See BORDER, page 7A
Chief Patrol Agent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Gregory Bovino, center, tours the New Orleans metro area on Wednesday.
Agents make their presence felt in Kenner BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer
Althea Vallotton didn’t pay much attention to the roofers on top of her Marquette Drive home in Kenner when she left for work Wednesday. She told them “good morning” and went on her way. After all, it was only a one-day job to put on a new metal roof. Then the calls started coming in from
WEATHER HIGH 60 LOW 52 PAGE 8B
neighbors and relatives. Videos of her house were circulating on Facebook. The U.S. Border Patrol was there. At 12:30 p.m., just under a dozen agents pulled up in a truck and SUV and surrounded the two-story home. Several climbed up on top of the roof, according to videos posted to social media and a neighbor who saw it all. Two of the 10 or so workers who had been pulling off the asphalt shingles and prepping for the new
Business ......................6A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
13TH yEAR, NO. 114