LSU’S MIKE NWOKO A BIG MAN WITH A BIG PERSONALITY 1C
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ADVOCATE T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
W e d n e s d ay, J a n u a ry 28, 2026
“So we are going to enjoy our candy and our soda and our energy drinks all the way from Mardi Gras, and then we’re collectively going on a really great diet.” CAMILLE CONAWAy, executive director for economic independence at the Louisiana Department of Health
Food stamp restrictions set to begin in Louisiana
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Student deported after father’s immigration check St. Amant High School senior seeking asylum in U.S.
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO
Louisiana is one of about a dozen states that have requested waivers from the USDA to restrict certain SNAP purchases, part of a growing movement and a cornerstone of the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement.
State limits on SNAP benefits to start Ash Wednesday
BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Louisiana SNAP recipients may find themselves involuntarily giving up soda and candy for Lent this year, as new restrictions on what the food assistance can be used to purchase take effect on Ash Wednesday. In announcing the changes, state health officials said the timing immediately after Mardi Gras was intentional. The waiver allowing Louisiana to place the restrictions on the federal
program commonly known as food stamps was approved last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It was set to begin Jan. 1, but the state received approval for the delay. “You can still buy soda, you can still buy candy, but you cannot use your SNAP card to do it beginning Feb. 18,” said Camille Conaway, the executive director for economic independence at the Louisiana Department of Health. “So we are going to enjoy our candy and our soda and our energy drinks all the way from Mardi Gras, and then
we’re collectively going on a really great diet.” Roughly 25,000 products will no longer be eligible for purchase with SNAP funds, according to a product list commissioned by the state and compiled by NielsenIQ, a consumer research company. Under Louisiana’s waiver, “soft drinks” are defined as any carbonated, nonalcoholic beverage containing high-fructose corn syrup or
ä See RESTRICTIONS, page 10A
An Ascension Parish high school student seeking asylum in the U.S. was detained by federal agents and deported to Guatemala last week, according to the student and people who spoke with her. Maria Bolvito, a senior at St. Amant High School in St. Amant, was taken into custody on Jan. 20 when she joined her father for a routine check-in with immigration officials, those close to the teen said. Bolvito, who recently turned 18, said she did not speak with a lawyer or go before a judge. Three days later, she and her father were deported. “I felt sad,” Bolvito, who had been in the PHOTO PROVIDED By U.S. since she was BRITANy MOLINA about 10 years old, said in a text message Maria Bolvito is a to The Advocate this student at St. Amant week from Guate- High School in mala. “I didn’t want to Ascension Parish. leave yet.” A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson would not confirm that Bolvito was deported. A spokesperson for Ascension Parish Schools referred questions to law enforcement. Bolvito appears to be one of only a few Louisiana students known to have been deported as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Trump administration officials say they are enforcing the country’s immigration laws and targeting adults with criminal records living in the country illegally. But some children and young people have been caught up in the sweeps. Three Louisiana children who are U.S. citizens were allegedly deported last year along with their parents. A 16-year-old boy also was deported from Louisiana last year, despite having special legal protection for immigrant youth, according to advocates. Attorneys are
ä See DEPORTED, page 10A
Population in state sees slight increase Louisiana continues to lag in growth among Southern peers
BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer
Louisiana’s population ticked slightly higher last year, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, suggesting that population losses from recent years have waned even as the state remains one of the slowest growing in the U.S. and among its Southern peers. The figures released Tuesday show that Louisiana had a population of approximately 4.6 million as of July 1, with 3,300 more people living here than a year earlier. The nudge higher was fueled by more births in the state than deaths and
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an increase in the number of international immigrants, who offset the number of people that left the state last year. It was the second-straight year that Louisiana posted a mod- ä Immigration est increase in crackdown population af- triggers drop ter two-straight in growth rate years of declines — and a nationally. decades-long PAGE 8A depopulation trend in the state. Still, the latest data places Louisiana at 43rd of the 50 states, both in terms of population growth and out-migration, continuing a persistent trend that Gov. Jeff Landry has focused on trying to reverse through economic development
ä See POPULATION, page 8A
Outages from winter storm continue North and central La. residents hit hard
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN and JENNA ROSS Staff writers
STAFF PHOTO By JILL PICKETT
Children sled on the wintry mix that fell in Shreveport on Sunday.
Tens of thousands remained without power Tuesday in north and central Louisiana as residents braced for more belowfreezing temperatures, even as south Louisiana was mostly spared from the worst of the week’s severe winter weather. Over the weekend, a winter storm that has ravaged much of the country blanketed the upper half of the state with snow and ice, snapping trees and bringing down power lines. By Tuesday morning, the death toll related to the storm had climbed to at least six, state officials reported. The Louisiana
Business ......................3B Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....4D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
ä See WINTER, page 7A
101ST yEAR, NO. 212