Louisiana
ICE agents arrest 73-year-old grandfather in Louisiana who has lived in US for 45 years
Forty-five years ago, Jose Francisco Garcia Rodriguez fled Cuba on a ship provided by the United States for people seeking refuge from the Cuban government.
While on his way to work on Monday, the 73-year-old grandfather was picked up by immigration enforcement agents near his Lafayette home. He sits today in an ICE processing center in Pine Prairie, a village in rural Evangeline Parish.
One of Rodriguez’s stepsons posted Monday on Facebook that his father had been taken by ICE agents at a Circle K at the corner of Johnston Street and Guilbeau Road. The family has been quiet since that time.
On Thursday evening, though, Rodriguez’s stepdaughter Christian Cooper Riggs, of Lafayette, posted a video on social media telling the story of her father’s life and asking for help.
Rodriguez arrived in the U.S. with just the clothes on his back, Riggs said, with no education and not speaking English. He struggled and made mistakes, paid for them, and for the next 43 years lived a good life, raising a family and working hard labor for 40-60 hours a week, paying taxes and paying into Social Security, which he never used.
Three weeks ago, Rodriguez told Riggs he was afraid ICE would pick him up and deport him. Because of his earlier troubles, Rodriguez wasn’t able to become an official citizen, despite 10 years of trying, she said.
He was told by officials and lawyers three years ago, Riggs said, that it would be better to stop trying, to lay low and continue to work.
“I understand that we have an immigration problem. I do,” Riggs said. “I understand that our country cannot harbor every single person that crosses its borders. I understand that there are really bad people that we have to find.”
But starting with a 73-year-old grandfather who has a heart condition and who is the primary caretaker of his wife with dementia is not the solution, she said.
“It is a problem that has to be fixed with a surgeon’s blade. Not a machete.”
Riggs asked the public to contact their elected officials to ask for their help in freeing Rodriguez. And she asked for prayers.
ICE agents have reportedly been seen elsewhere in Lafayette this week.
Tiffany De Leon Steward of Lafayette said she saw a man in an SUV with Federal Enforcement written on it sitting in her Oakbourne neighborhood Monday watching Hispanic workers as they put a new roof on a house.
Others reported on social media that they’ve seen ICE agents in shopping centers and a store specializing in Hispanic food.
Louisiana
Louisiana has the highest incidence of prostate cancer in the nation. See the parish data.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men, with an estimated 333,830 new cases and 36,320 deaths projected for 2026 for the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
In the U.S., there are approximately 116 new prostate cancer cases per 100,000 people annually. Louisiana has the highest prostate cancer incidence rate in the country at 147.2 cases per 100,000 — a rate that has been steadily rising since 2014, according to data from the National Cancer Institute.
New prostate cancer drug can extend life expectancy by 8 months, Baton Rouge doctor says
These parishes had the highest rates, in cases per 100,000, of prostate cancer from 2018 to 2022, in descending order:
- West Feliciana Parish with 218.6 cases per 100,000;
- Iberville Parish with 182.3 cases per 100,000;
- Bienville Parish with 179.7 cases per 100,000;
- West Baton Rouge Parish with 179.4 cases per 100,000;
- Vermillion Parish with 176.5 cases per 100,000;
- Iberia Parish with 173.8 cases per 100,000;
- East Baton Rouge Parish with 173.6 cases per 100,000;
- East Carroll Parish with 172.9 cases per 100,000;
- East Feliciana Parish with 166.3 cases per 100,000;
- Tangipahoa Parish with 166.2 cases per 100,000;
- St. Martin Parish with 166 cases per 100,000;
- Jackson Parish with 165.3 cases per 100,000;
- and Lincoln Parish with 165.1 cases per 100,000.
These parishes had the lowest rates, in cases per 100,000, of prostate cancer from 2018 to 2022, in ascending order:
- Cameron Parish with 101 cases per 100,000;
- Evangeline Parish with 102.7 cases per 100,000;
- Union Parish with 106.9 cases per 100,000;
- Winn Parish with 108.2 cases per 100,000;
- Vernon Parish with 109.4 cases per 100,000;
- Grant Parish with 109.7 cases per 100,000;
- Franklin and La Salle parishes with 111 cases per 100,000;
- St. Bernard Parish with 113.9 cases per 100,000;
- Tensas Parish with 115.2 cases per 100,000;
- Terrebonne Parish with 117.5 cases per 100,000;
- Washington Parish with 121.1 cases per 100,000;
- Livingston Parish with 122.8 cases per 100,000;
- Sabine Parish with 122.9 cases per 100,000;
- Bossier Parish with 123.7 cases per 100,000;
- and La Fourche Parish with 124.8 cases per 100,000.
Data represents an annual average for all stages of prostate cancer.
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Marcavia Shavers posts 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead ULM Warhawks women’s basketball past Louisiana 79-63 in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.
ULM (15-15, 7-11 Sun Belt) took control early, outscoring Louisiana 17-7 in the first quarter and extending the lead to 41-21 by halftime. The Warhawks never trailed and led by as many as 28 points in the second quarter.
Shavers anchored the inside for ULM, finishing 9-of-15 from the field with 13 rebounds. Jazmine Jackson added 17 points off the bench, knocking down four 3-pointers, while J’Mani Ingram scored 16 points and dished out six assists.
ULM shot 46.9% from the field and held a 42-27 advantage on the boards. The Warhawks also converted Louisiana turnovers into 29 points and scored 26 second-chance points.
Louisiana (5-26, 2-16 Sun Belt) was led by Mikaylah Manley with 18 points and Imani Daniel with 17 points and seven rebounds. Amijah Price chipped in 12 points.
After struggling early, Louisiana shot better in the second half, scoring 42 points after the break. However, the early deficit proved too much to overcome.
ULM advances in the Sun Belt tournament, while Louisiana closes its season with the loss.
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BATON ROUGE (KNOE) – Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming is accusing Governor Jeff Landry of interfering with the state Senate race, which Fleming is a part of.
Fleming took to social media to accuse Landry of working “behind the scenes” to get Congresswoman Julia Letlow elected to the Senate.
According to Fleming, Dr. Ralph Abraham offered him the position of Deputy Director of the CDC shortly before announcing he was stepping down. Fleming said he politely declined.
A week later, news broke that Abraham is now leading Letlow’s Senate campaign.
“We know that Jeff has been heavily lobbying the Trump campaign team for the endorsement, he is pressuring the Republican Party of Louisiana and the Republican Executive Committees to support and endorse Letlow as well,” Fleming wrote on Facebook. “And, he is personally calling his donors to raise big money to save the Letlow campaign.
Landry formally endorsed Letlow for the U.S. Senate on March 4. Letlow also has the endorsement of President Donald Trump.
“We need a warrior who stands with the President to Make America Great. And there’s no greater warrior than a Louisiana mom,” Landry wrote on Facebook.
Fleming continued his commentary, asking when Landry will stop interfering with the state’s Senate race.
“Who is best to decide who represents you in Washington? Jeff Landry, or YOU?” Fleming asked.
Also in the heated race is incumbent Bill Cassidy, M.D.
Party primary elections in Louisiana are set for May 16, 2026.
Copyright 2026 KNOE. All rights reserved.
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