Lake Charles is the fifth largest city in the state of Louisiana and plays an integral role in border protection and national security in the region. The Lake Charles border patrol station is categorized under the New Orleans sector of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, which is a major shipping hub for the southern United States and home to many of the largest interior shipping lanes in the United States via various interstate and state highways and Lake Charles itself. The uniqueness of this combination of roadways and waterways means specialized training requirements are in place for border patrol agents and customs officers who work at this location.
The city was historically a popular destination for pirates and other thieves that would sail around the Gulf of Mexico and rob ships and boats bringing goods to and from the United States, the Caribbean Islands, the Bahamas, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Central and South America. The region of Louisiana where Lake Charles is located is full of many small waterways and inlets that make it attractive to smugglers and illegal immigrants of all kinds, but for the most part the border patrol jobs in Lake Charles are simply meant to supplement the efforts of the much larger border stations in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
Duties Now Performed by Border Patrol Agents in Lake Charles
Border agents in Lake Charles are primarily responsible for checking and verifying the documents of the numerous crew members that work on the ships that come and go from Lake Charles on a daily basis. Border patrol jobs in Lake Charles focus on training agents to patrol waterways and inspect cargo as well, when needed. The station in Lake Charles is also responsible for performing all border patrol duties for about a quarter of the western part of the state of Louisiana. Baton Rouge agents cover the rest of the state outside of New Orleans.
The monitoring of the area is done via farm and traffic checks by agents in Lake Charles. These days, Lake Charles is not as bust of a shipping destination as it once was, so border patrol jobs at the station mostly revolve around working with local law enforcement agencies and supporting the Baton Rouge and New Orleans station operations when called upon to do so.
Lake Charles is still important because it acts as another line of defense against illeal immigration and drug smuggling, which likely has either made its way from New Orleans is making its way to New Orleans.