KING CASE AFTERMATH: A CITY IN CRISIS : Border Patrol Agents Deployed to Unrest in L.A.

Repercussions from the violence in Los Angeles reached the California-Mexico border Friday as a contingent of riot-equipped Border Patrol agents headed north to help police and National Guard troops bring that city under control.

Federal officials disclosed very little about the deployment of the Border Patrol agents, part of more than 1,000 federal officers ordered to Los Angeles on Friday morning by President George Bush.

Amy Casner, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department in Washington, said only that the agents belonged to “response teams” that are trained in quelling public disturbances.

About 200 agents were dispatched to Los Angeles from the San Diego sector of the U.S. Border Patrol, according to immigration sources. The sector is the busiest and most violent in the nation, with about 800 agents who make up to 3,000 arrests a day.

The agents who remained behind were operating on an emergency basis. Supervisors canceled all leaves and off days, and told agents they would be working double shifts to compensate for missing personnel, agents said.

In addition, the Interstate 5 immigration checkpoint near San Onofre was temporarily shut down Friday.

Although agents said the use of overtime would prevent a dramatic reduction in the number of agents at the San Diego-Tijuana line, they said 16-hour shifts and canceled days off would take a toll. They expect their co-workers, who packed riot helmets and shields into Border Patrol vehicles and headed north in a convoy Friday morning, to remain in Los Angeles through the weekend.

The agency’s version of a SWAT team is the Border Tactical Unit, or BORTAC. It consists of 100 specially trained agents who can be mobilized and sent to emergency or hostage situations nationwide, an official said.

Individual Border Patrol sectors also have emergency response units known as “react teams.” And all agents receive training in crowd control.