U.S. Customs and Border Protection ramped up enforcement in the New Orleans area last week. Officials say the operation, known as “Catahoula Crunch,” aims to arrest 5,000 criminals who are in the country illegally.

Reporter for The Times-Picayune/The Advocate, Lara Nicholson, joins us with an update. 

The United Way of Southeast Louisiana is expanding its footprint of one-stop financial capability centers, called Prosperity Centers. They open in areas where more than half of parish households are facing financial hardship. The latest center opened this month in St. Bernard Parish and will offer an assortment of free, year-round financial services.

United Way CEO Michael Williamson joins us to discuss how the organization is addressing financial needs for low-income families.

An audit released this month finds that Louisiana ranks near the bottom among states and U.S. territories for the collection of child support payments. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s review of the Child Support Enforcement Program run through the Department of Children and Family Services found the agency collected just over half of court-obligated payments last year. 

Editor for the Louisiana Illuminator, Greg LaRose, joins us with more on the results of the audit.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. 

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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