Law & Order Special Victims Unit s20e03 Episode Script
Zero Tolerance
1 In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
All alone without her moose who's E broke free and S came loose.
Go ahead and eat your broccoli, Jess, okay? [knocking.]
No, thanks.
I just need to explain.
Yeah, you always just need to explain.
- This is not like last time.
- No? So instead of an escort's number, you got a waitress's phone number.
No, a waitress's mother's number.
Please, Al.
They know that I'm a cardiologist there.
She said that her mom is having a stent put in in a few days and asked if I would call her to tell her that it was routine.
Just for peace of mind.
That's it.
Scout's honor.
So what's with the apology flowers? Well, you didn't call me back about going to the Van Gogh exhibit, so I thought I'd bring Van Gogh to you.
[beeping.]
I'm sorr Al, really right now is not the best time.
Cute place.
And is this Jesse? Hello there, young lady.
Are we reading and eating broccoli? Pro move.
High five.
Yeah.
Where are we? A cow has an idea? Huh? I'll get some glue.
And I'll moo my best.
Both: [mooing.]
[laughs.]
See? Right, yeah.
Spoiler alert.
[laughs.]
This is the greatest book.
How about more broccoli? Mmm.
Do you like cows? [dramatic music.]
Oh, very concerned.
At current climate predictions, it's estimated that Lagos will be completely underwater as soon as 2050.
As per a recent study Need a car? Cash only.
Yeah, my daughter.
She's sick.
Oh, my No, no, no.
Do you know where the nearest hospital is? Mercy Hospital on 32nd street.
Let's go.
[tires squealing.]
What are you doing? Just drive.
Now! [tires squeal.]
[dramatic music.]
Teenage girl dumped from a car at the drop-off zone.
Groggy and naked, wrapped in a bed sheet.
There's a security camera though, right? I'll have the footage sent to you.
Had you run a rape kit? She wouldn't let me.
But there were obvious signs of sexual trauma, bruising, and tearing.
She had a rough night.
At least she was here.
Even if she was tossed away like a piece of trash.
Give us a moment with her? Hi.
I'm Detective Carisi.
This is Lieutenant Benson.
Is it all right to talk right now? Actually, you can call me Olivia.
What's your name? Delilah.
Delilah.
That's a pretty name.
It suits you.
So, Delilah, do you have any idea how you got to the hospital? I don't really remember.
Did did you take something? Some pills.
Do you remember who gave you those pills? Uncle Luke.
He's not really my uncle.
- He'she's more like a friend.
- Yeah.
[dramatic music.]
So, Delilah, did did Uncle Luke make you have sex with him? Did he hurt you? He wouldn't hurt me.
He sent me on a date with one of his friends.
Okay, you happen to know the friend's names or or where they live? Uncle Luke never makes me go back if I don't want to.
He loves me.
Please, please don't take him away.
So Uncle Luke is all she gave you.
.
Yeah, this girl was groomed to keep her mouth shut.
That name didn't pop on the registry.
Anything on the John that assaulted her? She was fuzzy, you know? I think Luke gave her some kind of tranquilizer.
Yeah, thanks.
Thanks a lot.
I got it.
Okay, so the hospital sent their camera footage over.
This is the entrance to the hospital.
Car pulls up.
And the door opens.
Yeah, we got a driver, guy in the backseat.
No clear shot of the faces.
I can't make out the numbers, but that's the T-plate.
That could be an Uber.
Or a car service.
Okay, get it to TARU to enhance the image.
We find the driver, we find the perp.
Chinua Iwobi? - Yeah? - Police.
Welcome to America 2018.
I don't want any problem.
Yeah, well, it's a little late for that after what happened to that girl in your car last night.
Huh? You know, the one you dumped off at the hospital? I didn't know that man was crazy when I picked him up.
You didn't think it was weird he had a naked girl wrapped up - in a sheet? - He said it was his daughter.
He was taking her to the hospital.
Why didn't you call police? I wanted to, man.
I really did.
But [sighs.]
You're illegal.
I'm here for ten years now.
I have a wife and kids.
Please don't send me back.
Oh, we don't deal with any of that.
Last week I got robbed with a gun to my head.
$600.
And I was too scared to report it.
Listen, man.
If that happens to you again, call me.
Right now we're only concerned with your fare in that car last night.
Okay, what did he look like? White, in his 40s.
Gray hair.
Okay.
And, uh, where'd you pick him up? A building on 25th near the High Line next to a pizza place.
Okay, thank you.
You did good.
Take care of your family.
- Who you calling? - Carisi.
- He can help me pick up this lead.
- Are you kidding? This guy's violent.
You know that, right? Yeah, and I can run same as you, Fin.
Pregnant or not.
And what if something happens? Then it's not your problem.
Stop treating me like a ride-along.
Can I call Carisi to have him meet us there? Fine.
First and second floors are a bust.
Yeah, nothing on three, either.
All right, Carisi, you take four.
With you.
I'm gonna take the fifth.
I'm sure I'll manage.
[pounding.]
Police.
Anybody in there? Everything all right? Yeah, everything's fine, ma'am.
Uh, we're detectives.
We're looking for a man in your building.
He's white.
He's got gray hair.
He's somewhere in his 40s.
Oh, that sounds like the guest in 4B.
- Over there.
- Guest? My neighbor, Christina.
Lovely girl.
She's traveling in France.
She AirBNBs her apartment.
Do you know if that guest is still here? Oh, yes.
His name is Vince.
Thank you, ma'am.
Hey.
Nobody's home on five.
4B could be our guy.
[knocking.]
Vince? - Yeah? - We're the police.
We wanna ask you some questions.
Um, I was just leaving.
This won't take long.
Mind if we come in? [dramatic music.]
Where you going? I'm here from Cincinnati for the auto show.
I'm in mufflers and exhaust.
Auto show was over two days ago.
Right, yeah.
I'm on my way to LaGuardia.
Where were you last night? Here.
Excuse me.
Can you tell me what the hell's going on? I dunno, Vince, but this doesn't look like your size to me.
It must belong to the lady I rented the place from.
She forget to give you sheets, too? [camera shitter clicks.]
You know what? I'm gonna send this to, uh, the car service driver.
You know what? I did take a car to the movies last night.
Yeah? What'd you see? Uh, that new Tom Cruise movie.
Tom Cruise? That's all you got, Vince? Put your hands behind your back.
Wait.
Is seeing a movie a crime in New York now? No.
But rape is.
[grunts.]
[handcuffs clicking.]
Let's go.
- [grunts.]
- Oops.
Do I need a lawyer? That's up to you, Vince.
[cell phone vibrating.]
Who's Karen? My wife.
Look, I really need to take that.
Yeah, she's called a couple of times already.
What were you doing with a 14-year-old girl? What are you talking about? You know, you need to be smart about this.
We have you on videotape.
We have a witness.
Deliliah's on her way down here to ID you right now.
You got kids as well, Vince? Two, boys.
If you ever wanna see your kids again, you're gonna tell us who sold that girl to you.
- What sold? - Yeah.
Then we might let you take the next call your wife makes.
[cell phone vibrates.]
That's your kid? [cell phone vibrates.]
[dramatic music.]
Look, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know she was on something.
When she started zoning out, I tried to help her.
I took her to the hospital.
That was the right thing to do, wasn't it? You heard that, Sarge, right? Yeah.
So you are the person who brought her to the hospital? Yeah.
Okay, you're free to go.
What, really? No, asshole.
Sit down.
You don't get brownie points after raping a kid.
Now where did the girl come from? Huh? No? Okay, I'm just gonna call Billy back.
Let him know where his father is.
No, wait, wait.
When I was in town last year for the auto show, I got a number off a back page before they shut down.
Luke.
Okay.
So you're gonna call this Luke and you're gonna tell him that you're hanging onto Delilah for an extra day.
And you have a friend that's interested.
Then we'll let you talk to your wife.
Let me ask you something, Lieu.
What's what what's going on with Rollins? If you have a question about Rollins, why don't you try asking her? She's pregnant.
Isn't she? Really, Carisi? - Are you telling me she's not pregnant? - Really? [dramatic music.]
- You Thompson? - Yeah.
You got all of it? This is for me.
This is extra for Vince.
Come on up.
You're gonna like what you see.
Sweethearts.
Come on, get up.
Meet a new friend of mine.
Okay.
This the merchandise? Uh, yeah, except for Delilah.
She's with your friend, Vince, the lucky dog.
What about that one right there? Oh, yeah.
She's not on the menu just yet.
Come on, I got some more over this way.
Come on.
Girls, girls, come here.
- Let's go.
- Come here.
Come on.
Got a friend I want you to meet.
Come on.
So I can pick one and do whatever? Within reason.
But you mess up my investment, that would not be cool.
You look like a guy with impeccable taste.
Have you made a decision? I have.
You're under arrest.
Stop! Police! [grunts.]
[girls shouting.]
[police chattering.]
Liv, there's a little one over here.
Carisi! - You got him? - Yeah.
[groans.]
Don't worry.
I'm the police.
Hey, sweetie.
You're okay.
- You're okay.
- Por favor.
You're okay.
No me lastimes.
No, no, no.
Estoy con la policia.
No me lleves.
Don't take me.
[heavy breathing.]
So why did you run away from your parents? Duh.
They freaking hate me.
And how long ago did you meet up with Luke? Did he approach you? So at the bus station, Luke said he'd take care of you? Mmhmm.
Yeah.
He brought me McDonald's and these really sick kicks, so - Hey.
- Hey.
- They're so young.
- Yeah.
And two of them escaped violent homes.
Uh, another one was living with her demented grandmother and ran out of food.
We're trying to get the details on the rest of the kids.
You know, we're just trying to keep them comfortable until we can place them somewhere.
Where'd your perp find them? Uh, on the street.
In a park.
One was actually plucked from a playground.
He has a talent for spotting, uh, vulnerability.
Why do they stay with him? They think they're contributing to the household.
He has them utterly manipulated.
- Except for one.
- Are you thirsty? She's afraid of the guy that we collared.
And even more afraid of us.
Can we start with your name? You need to meet uncle Luke.
Mr.
Frances, I'm ADA Stone.
Ah, brought in the big guns with some big guns.
Is he gonna smack me around? No, but I might, after what you did to those girls.
Give them a home? Give them food? I take in homeless, abused children.
What the jury will hear is you on tape selling children for sex.
I was selling their company.
They're at an age where I can't control their every move.
Who do you think you're talking to here? I love those girls.
And they love me.
They could have gotten up and left any time they wanted to.
- And did they? - You brainwashed them.
I saved them.
That youngest one, she's completely traumatized.
Oh, yeah, my little my little Gabriela.
- Where'd you find her? - I rescued her.
Wandering around Port Authority like she was on another planet.
She could have done far worse than Uncle Luke.
Trust me.
You are one twisted son of a bitch, you know that? I'm gonna make it my personal mission that you never lay your hands on another girl.
Yeah, blah, blah, blah.
I want a lawyer now.
Knock yourself out.
'Cause it's not gonna matter.
[dramatic music.]
[door opens.]
Hey.
So your name's Gabriela, huh? What's your last name? - Sosa.
- Sosa.
You know some English.
Right? Who taught you? Your parents? You took a bus to New York? To the Port Authority? - Yes.
- Yeah? Where did you take the bus from? I don't like to go back.
Okay.
Is your family bad to you? - No.
- You can tell me.
You know I'm here to help you.
Now, can you tell me where you live? I want my mommy.
[sniffs.]
Okay.
[crying.]
Okay, we can talk about it later.
I couldn't get a whole lot out of her.
I mean, she's exhausted.
She's distressed.
And maybe I can try a little later when she trusts me some more.
Okay.
Uh, where are we on the two girls that were abused? We reached out to ACS in their local precincts.
- They'll follow up on the allegations.
- The other three? On the way back to their families.
Hopefully this will be a wake up call for them.
So we have one more to go.
Let's put Gabriela through NCMEC.
It's Gabriela Sosa.
[typing.]
[beeping.]
All right, I got a name match.
It's a, uh, missing persons alert from Elizabeth, New Jersey.
That's a bus ride away.
Her parents reported her missing? No, it's the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
She was in foster care.
Did I tell you about my cousin Nikki? She's having another kid.
You believe that? - Is that three? - Five.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
Hey Rollins, why didn't you tell me? Tell you what? All right.
Son Sonny, it was hey, I tried to.
I I just I didn't know how.
Don't don't start asking me questions right now.
And and don't go all Catholic on me, okay? You're the detectives from New York? Yeah, Rollins, Carisi.
We've been waiting for weeks for some news about Gabriela.
Well, we need you to ID a photo for us.
[dramatic music.]
It's her.
They found her.
Thank God.
Wh how in the world did she get to New York City? You tell us.
Your one job is to keep the child you're fostering safe.
Please don't be angry with us.
We did the best we could to make her comfortable here, but after all she's been through She's very distrustful of Americans in general.
What do you mean? Well, you've you've seen the news.
You know what's been going on.
She was brought to us after she came across the border, after our government separated her from her mother.
Gabriela and her mother Maria were picked up near the border in June.
Maria was arrested for unlawful entry.
Gabriela told us the agent grabbed her right out of her mother's arms.
That's insane.
Have a seat, please.
Uh, from what we understand, Gabriela was brought to some detention facility for kids in Texas.
So how did she get to you in Jersey? We registered as a temporary foster family when we read about the situation at the border.
We felt we could at least provide a loving and nurturing home.
It's better than being locked up in some vacant megastore or an Army base in the desert.
I truly admire you for taking this on.
I know that it couldn't have been easy.
Gabriela wouldn't even look at us the first few days.
All she did was sit on the floor and cry for her mom.
But, uh, we, uh we finally got her to eat and play a little with our boys.
Did the foster agency provide you with a contact for Maria? We tried.
There was, uh, an 800 number where you're supposed to be able to arrange a call.
At first they couldn't locate her.
And then it was always busy.
A few days later my son told us that Gabriela had asked him how to get to Texas.
He said you take a plane from New York.
He didn't think she would actually try to do it.
What's your favorite kind of ice cream, Gabriela? Vanilla.
My favorite is salted caramel chocolate chip.
Okay, they got that at your local bodega? They special order it for me.
Mmm.
Gabriela, why'd you run away? Were the Wellbecks nice people? Yes.
Very nice.
But I miss my mommy.
It make me sad.
You know your mother's very far away, right? Yes.
Why la migra take her, Miss Amanda? Because when your mother crossed the border, she broke the laws of our country.
But what did I do? You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie.
So, what? What's gonna happen to her? We can't send her back to the Wellbecks.
- We're sure about that? - She'd just run away again.
Look, guys, we have an obligation to notify the Office of Refugee Resettlement and let them know that we have her here.
They'll send her to one of their tender age centers.
I'll take her.
Rollins, you can't take her.
You took Noah.
I did.
[dramatic music.]
And this is very different.
Not much.
Could you remember you remember Esther, the last girl we let walk out of here? [sighs.]
Rollins, you can't take her.
[door opens.]
Tracked down Maria Sosa's immigration lawyer.
She's at La Tuna Federal Detention Center now.
He's on his way there right now and he said he's pretty sure he can set up a video call with Maria.
We go through Guatemala because my neighbor was killed by La Mara.
He saw them kill a man.
So they drag him into the street and shoot him.
I get money from my family and take Gabriela with the coyote to Mexico.
But he leave us at the border.
Entonces, we have to cross alone.
And I was arrested by La Migra.
They put me in the jail and a man come and he take Gabriela.
She was holding me and crying, and he just pulled her away.
I can't get the sound of my baby calling for me out of my head.
Maria was arrested for illegal entry.
I'm filing an asylum petition on her behalf.
But the way things are going, it could be months if not years before everything's adjudicated.
Until then, she's incarcerated here.
Come.
Gabriela, this way.
Please, please.
- Mami, soy yo.
- Mi niña.
Mi bebe.
[both speaking Spanish.]
Si, Mami.
- Okay, time to shut it down.
- Can we get two more minutes? No, turn the camera away, ma'am, and terminate the call immediately.
Adios, mi niña.
[speaking Spanish.]
Mami, no.
No, Mami.
[crying.]
It's okay.
It's okay.
So now this this poor kid is is sleeping on a cot in our overnight room in the squad while one of our detectives, Carisi, babysits her.
I mean, the feds are picking her up tomorrow.
That's rough.
What, she's what, ten? - Yeah.
- Wow.
I I don't know how you guys do what you do.
- [sighs.]
- You're amazing.
Thank you.
Sometimes it doesn't feel that way.
No, that's that kind of empathy.
It's special.
Well, you weren't so bad yourself with, uh, Jesse the other night.
I love kids.
I almost did my residency in pediatrics, - but, uh - Oh, really? Honestly I was, uh, 200k deep in student loan debt and I was damn good in the OR, so I went for the money.
Hmm.
Ah.
I remember you once liked Chablis.
Domaine Francois Marchand, 2015, Grand Cru.
Thanks.
[sniffs.]
Lovely.
- Keep it chilled for you.
- Thank you.
To second chances? Or third, if we're keeping score.
- [groans.]
- [chuckles.]
What? Al, I'm pregnant.
[dramatic music.]
[scoffs.]
Fourth of July, the one night we, um [laughs.]
Wow.
Well, you know, whatever you decide.
I could you know, I could go with you to the procedure and take care of all that if that's what you wanted to do.
How'd the babysitting go? Eh, played 19 games of checkers and I, uh I learned to read "Green Eggs and Ham" in Spanish.
No me gusto los huevos verde.
Ni el jamón, my friend.
Rollins is on kid duty right now.
I'm looking for Lieutenant Benson.
Who are you? Jeff Phelps, Office of Refugee Resettlement.
I'm here to pick up Gabriela Sosa.
Liv.
This is Mr.
Phelps.
He's a refugee officer from ORR.
Lieutenant Benson.
I'm I take it you have some paperwork.
Fin.
So where you taking her? She'll be housed at Fort Stirling.
Oh, so she'll be at an Army base behind razor wire.
No, Lieutenant.
She'll be in a dorm-like setting with other minors.
It's almost like summer camp.
Summer camp.
Except she doesn't go home to her family.
I don't make the rules, Lieutenant.
Gabriela, um, this is Officer Phelps.
And I'm so sorry, but he he has to take you - No.
- It's going to be okay, dear.
Please, please.
Don't take me again.
What why don't we wait, what? What do you mean by, "Again?" He was the man who take me away from my mother.
[heavy breathing.]
Is that true? I was at the border when Maria Sosa was processed.
I took custody of Gabriela and escorted her and several other children to the foster agency here in the city.
So you're the one that separated her from her mother? That was the policy, detective.
I'm sure you're aware of that.
Okay.
Fin, Carisi, arrest Officer Phelps.
Liv? And place him in a holding cell.
Is this some kind of sick joke? You're being charged with kidnapping in the second degree.
For doing my job? You abducted a minor and transported her against her will to New York City.
That's a class B felony in this state.
You're gonna be sorry about this, Lieutenant.
Very sorry.
Give him his phone call and a bologna sandwich.
NYPD Special Victims Unit has arrested an agent in the Office of Refugee Resettlement for the kidnapping of a nine-year-old girl named Gabriela Sosa who's being evaluated now by Children Services.
Where did this kidnapping occur, Lieutenant? Officer Phelps initiated the abduction in Texas and the minor was transported here into Manhattan.
How do you expect the federal government to react to this? That's not my concern.
A serious felony was committed here.
Does this really affect the safety of the everyday New Yorker, Lieutenant? Well, as a result of this abduction, uh, Gabriela Sosa a nine-year-old child found herself in the arms of a child sex trafficker.
How is Gabriela doing? She's doing as well as can be expected.
But she was deeply traumatized, like many of the children.
So I have no doubt that That there will be long-term, uh, serious emotional and psychological consequences for her.
Thank you so much.
That's all for now.
[all speaking at once.]
Lieutenant, lieutenant! - You arrested a federal agent? - That's right.
Who was just doing his job.
And I was just doing my job.
And what's your next move now, Olivia? Do you actually think this is gonna stick? Come on, Peter.
I'm not that naive.
Well then what are you doing? I have every media outlet in the city putting this story out there.
I was doing it to make a point.
I don't prosecute cases to make points.
Well then I will find someone who will.
[dramatic music.]
Weren't you the one that told me that the only wars worth fighting for are the ones you can't win? [knocking.]
I'm Kim Caldwell, U.
S.
Department of Justice.
This is a federal writ of habeas corpus demanding the release of ORR officer Jeff Phelps.
See you in court at 4:00 p.
m.
, Lieutenant.
Are you in? Let me show you what you're fighting for.
[door opens.]
- Hello, Gabriela.
- Hi, Miss Olivia.
Honey, this is my friend Peter.
Hi, Mr.
Peter.
I make a picture of my house in Guatemala.
It's beautiful.
Yes, it is.
Thank you.
There are 3,000 more Gabrielas.
If you have to walk away from this, I understand, but I can't.
Kidnapping is defined as forcibly depriving a person of her freedom by holding her against her will.
It is beyond dispute the Refugee Officer Phelps did precisely that to Gabriela Sosa.
As the government does to millions of prisoners - every day.
- Gabriela was not a prisoner.
She's a nine-year-old child who did nothing wrong.
Except enter this country illegally with her mother.
Do you concede that fact, Mr.
Stone? For the purpose of this argument, I would.
But that doesn't give the government the right to forcibly separate her from her parents.
Flores v.
Reno says we can't keep them together.
No, it says we can't incarcerate them together.
And the state of New York criminalizes transporting that child here against her will.
These acts were done under the color of federal law.
Not law, Your Honor.
But a DOJ policy directive known as Zero Tolerance.
Either way, it's clear the petitioner was acting in good faith.
That doesn't relieve him of his criminal liability for the ongoing abduction of this girl here in New York.
I would remind Mr.
Stone of the supremacy clause - in article six of the Constitution.
- Oh, my God.
Simply stated, Your Honor, federal law trumps state law.
Okay, Your Honor, what are we doing here? We're talking about a nine-year-old child.
You are out of order, Lieutenant Benson.
The government ripped this little girl out of her mother's arms.
Somebody somewhere needs to stop this.
Liv, Liv.
[sighs.]
- Your Honor.
- Thank you.
It's all right.
It's all right.
[sighs.]
Why don't you, uh, have a seat while I order us some pizza for dinner? [groans.]
Do you have a baby? Yeah, her name is Jesse.
She's three years old.
A baby in there? Yeah, I do.
Can I feel? Well, um, yeah, okay.
Do you want the baby to be a girl or a boy? I'm not sure.
When I see my mother, I tell her that I want to have a little brother.
[dramatic music.]
I have been asked to rule on the legality of the arrest of a federal officer by state law enforcement, not to hold forth on the wisdom of our country's immigration policy.
And while the separation of Gabriela Sosa and her mother is disturbing and ill advised, it's tangential to the issue raised by this writ.
I hold that federal immigration policy overrides any claim by the state that a kidnapping has been committed.
The detention of Officer Phelps is therefore illegal.
He should be released from custody forthwith.
[gavel clacks.]
[sighs.]
At least we tried.
Yeah, we lost a battle.
Maybe [sighs.]
Maybe we'll win the war.
Pretty good, huh? Muy bueno.
Will I be sleeping here tonight? I really don't know, Gabriela.
No.
No! - No.
- Gabriela - I want to stay here.
- I know.
I know, sweetie, but I'm I'm afraid that you have to go with Officer Phelps.
I don't want to.
I know.
We don't have a choice, honey.
Please, Miss Olivia.
Gabriela, listen to me.
Listen to me.
Now's the time when you need to be strong.
Right? Fuerte.
You're going to see your mother again.
When? I don't know the answer to that right now.
I wish I did.
But we are gonna do everything that we can to help you.
Everything.
Do you understand that? Si.
- Okay.
- Just don't forget me.
Oh, we won't.
It's time.
Okay, just remember, Gabriela.
Fuerte.
Fuerte.
Fuerte, honey.
So, uh, how's Special Victims working out? [laughs.]
It's, uh, not what I expected.
[laughs.]
You should, uh you should meet this Lieutenant.
Ah, I always had you figured for a lifer in homicide.
A lifer? Yeah, maybe.
You enjoying the big city? You know me.
All work and no play.
So, let's cut to the chase.
You didn't come all this way for a catch up.
Yeah, you're right.
I need your help.
Cops I'm working with, they liberated an undocumented nine-year-old from a sex trafficker.
We're trying to reunite her with her mother.
Mother's here in Chicago? Texas.
In federal detention for illegal entry.
It's out of my jurisdiction, don't you think? Come on, Mark.
You have more connections inside the Beltway than Potomac Edison.
This immigration stuff is getting tricky these days to say the least.
We're not making policy here.
It's one child, one parent.
And you really think this is gonna make a difference? You know, when I was a kid, my grandfather had a cottage in the Dunes in Rhode Island.
We would get up early and we'd walk the beaches together.
One morning there was thousands of sea turtle hatchlings crawling towards the surf.
And we could see that the tide was going out, and most of them weren't going to make it.
And I said, "Grandpa, these baby turtles are going to die.
" [dramatic music.]
And he picked up a hatchling and he walked it to the water.
"This one won't.
"And this one won't.
And this one won't.
" This mother's grounds for asylum, they're solid? 50/50.
I'll see what I can do.
No promises.
Hey, anybody wanna get a beer? Oh, man.
I promised Ken and Alejandro I'd babysit tonight.
- What about you? Non-alcoholic? - What's the point? Besides, after this Gabriela thing, I'd need something a lot stiffer than a beer.
That's why anybody wants to come to this country to work for the American Dream, they should be allowed - to do that.
- Really? I mean, political asylum, that's okay.
But just because Maria's neighbor got shot by a gang? That doesn't qualify.
I don't know, Fin.
What that woman had to go through to get to the border, she must have been terrorized.
And who takes care of them once they get here? I mean, separating kids from their parents, that's barbaric.
But there's still a problem.
I think immigrants can take care of themselves.
My great grandfather came to this country from Torino when he was 12 years old.
And I bet you he didn't have public housing, food stamps, and Medicaid.
Most of these people, they get jobs.
And they're jobs that Americans don't want.
"Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
" Yeah, and that's a great poem, but it's all garbage.
My people came here 300 years ago in chains, and I still can't breathe free.
[dramatic music.]
- Amanda.
- Yeah.
Um, your office told me where to find you.
Well, they're not supposed to, but - I pulled rank.
- Oh.
Is everything okay? Yeah, I don't I don't wanna make a big thing.
Um I'm having this baby.
I don't need anything from you.
Hi, we're here to see Gabriela Sosa.
Is she stationed here, ma'am? She's one of the children who's being detained here.
I'm sorry, ma'am.
Those types of visits are not authorized.
Get your CO down here right now.
I'm sorry, sir.
I'm not authorized to do that.
Listen, son.
I didn't hunt through the mountains of Quang Tri for three years to have a babyfaced MP tell me what's authorized.
Am I clear? Uh Soldier! Yes, sir.
That was fun.
[dramatic music.]
I can't believe what I'm seeing.
Gabriela Sosa? Step forward.
[groans.]
You have the release orders? [crying.]
Mi niña.
- Mi amor.
- Mami.
- [speaking Spanish.]
- Mami.
Mami.
Oh! [speaking Spanish.]
Here you go.
Thank you.
[both speaking Spanish.]
How in the world did you and Stone pull this off? The supervising judge in the 5th circuit grew up in Chicago.
We trained at the same gym.
Peter threw together the asylum petition and Judge Connors pushed it through.
[both crying.]
Thank you.
Welcome to America.
This way, please.
[gates rattling.]
In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
All alone without her moose who's E broke free and S came loose.
Go ahead and eat your broccoli, Jess, okay? [knocking.]
No, thanks.
I just need to explain.
Yeah, you always just need to explain.
- This is not like last time.
- No? So instead of an escort's number, you got a waitress's phone number.
No, a waitress's mother's number.
Please, Al.
They know that I'm a cardiologist there.
She said that her mom is having a stent put in in a few days and asked if I would call her to tell her that it was routine.
Just for peace of mind.
That's it.
Scout's honor.
So what's with the apology flowers? Well, you didn't call me back about going to the Van Gogh exhibit, so I thought I'd bring Van Gogh to you.
[beeping.]
I'm sorr Al, really right now is not the best time.
Cute place.
And is this Jesse? Hello there, young lady.
Are we reading and eating broccoli? Pro move.
High five.
Yeah.
Where are we? A cow has an idea? Huh? I'll get some glue.
And I'll moo my best.
Both: [mooing.]
[laughs.]
See? Right, yeah.
Spoiler alert.
[laughs.]
This is the greatest book.
How about more broccoli? Mmm.
Do you like cows? [dramatic music.]
Oh, very concerned.
At current climate predictions, it's estimated that Lagos will be completely underwater as soon as 2050.
As per a recent study Need a car? Cash only.
Yeah, my daughter.
She's sick.
Oh, my No, no, no.
Do you know where the nearest hospital is? Mercy Hospital on 32nd street.
Let's go.
[tires squealing.]
What are you doing? Just drive.
Now! [tires squeal.]
[dramatic music.]
Teenage girl dumped from a car at the drop-off zone.
Groggy and naked, wrapped in a bed sheet.
There's a security camera though, right? I'll have the footage sent to you.
Had you run a rape kit? She wouldn't let me.
But there were obvious signs of sexual trauma, bruising, and tearing.
She had a rough night.
At least she was here.
Even if she was tossed away like a piece of trash.
Give us a moment with her? Hi.
I'm Detective Carisi.
This is Lieutenant Benson.
Is it all right to talk right now? Actually, you can call me Olivia.
What's your name? Delilah.
Delilah.
That's a pretty name.
It suits you.
So, Delilah, do you have any idea how you got to the hospital? I don't really remember.
Did did you take something? Some pills.
Do you remember who gave you those pills? Uncle Luke.
He's not really my uncle.
- He'she's more like a friend.
- Yeah.
[dramatic music.]
So, Delilah, did did Uncle Luke make you have sex with him? Did he hurt you? He wouldn't hurt me.
He sent me on a date with one of his friends.
Okay, you happen to know the friend's names or or where they live? Uncle Luke never makes me go back if I don't want to.
He loves me.
Please, please don't take him away.
So Uncle Luke is all she gave you.
.
Yeah, this girl was groomed to keep her mouth shut.
That name didn't pop on the registry.
Anything on the John that assaulted her? She was fuzzy, you know? I think Luke gave her some kind of tranquilizer.
Yeah, thanks.
Thanks a lot.
I got it.
Okay, so the hospital sent their camera footage over.
This is the entrance to the hospital.
Car pulls up.
And the door opens.
Yeah, we got a driver, guy in the backseat.
No clear shot of the faces.
I can't make out the numbers, but that's the T-plate.
That could be an Uber.
Or a car service.
Okay, get it to TARU to enhance the image.
We find the driver, we find the perp.
Chinua Iwobi? - Yeah? - Police.
Welcome to America 2018.
I don't want any problem.
Yeah, well, it's a little late for that after what happened to that girl in your car last night.
Huh? You know, the one you dumped off at the hospital? I didn't know that man was crazy when I picked him up.
You didn't think it was weird he had a naked girl wrapped up - in a sheet? - He said it was his daughter.
He was taking her to the hospital.
Why didn't you call police? I wanted to, man.
I really did.
But [sighs.]
You're illegal.
I'm here for ten years now.
I have a wife and kids.
Please don't send me back.
Oh, we don't deal with any of that.
Last week I got robbed with a gun to my head.
$600.
And I was too scared to report it.
Listen, man.
If that happens to you again, call me.
Right now we're only concerned with your fare in that car last night.
Okay, what did he look like? White, in his 40s.
Gray hair.
Okay.
And, uh, where'd you pick him up? A building on 25th near the High Line next to a pizza place.
Okay, thank you.
You did good.
Take care of your family.
- Who you calling? - Carisi.
- He can help me pick up this lead.
- Are you kidding? This guy's violent.
You know that, right? Yeah, and I can run same as you, Fin.
Pregnant or not.
And what if something happens? Then it's not your problem.
Stop treating me like a ride-along.
Can I call Carisi to have him meet us there? Fine.
First and second floors are a bust.
Yeah, nothing on three, either.
All right, Carisi, you take four.
With you.
I'm gonna take the fifth.
I'm sure I'll manage.
[pounding.]
Police.
Anybody in there? Everything all right? Yeah, everything's fine, ma'am.
Uh, we're detectives.
We're looking for a man in your building.
He's white.
He's got gray hair.
He's somewhere in his 40s.
Oh, that sounds like the guest in 4B.
- Over there.
- Guest? My neighbor, Christina.
Lovely girl.
She's traveling in France.
She AirBNBs her apartment.
Do you know if that guest is still here? Oh, yes.
His name is Vince.
Thank you, ma'am.
Hey.
Nobody's home on five.
4B could be our guy.
[knocking.]
Vince? - Yeah? - We're the police.
We wanna ask you some questions.
Um, I was just leaving.
This won't take long.
Mind if we come in? [dramatic music.]
Where you going? I'm here from Cincinnati for the auto show.
I'm in mufflers and exhaust.
Auto show was over two days ago.
Right, yeah.
I'm on my way to LaGuardia.
Where were you last night? Here.
Excuse me.
Can you tell me what the hell's going on? I dunno, Vince, but this doesn't look like your size to me.
It must belong to the lady I rented the place from.
She forget to give you sheets, too? [camera shitter clicks.]
You know what? I'm gonna send this to, uh, the car service driver.
You know what? I did take a car to the movies last night.
Yeah? What'd you see? Uh, that new Tom Cruise movie.
Tom Cruise? That's all you got, Vince? Put your hands behind your back.
Wait.
Is seeing a movie a crime in New York now? No.
But rape is.
[grunts.]
[handcuffs clicking.]
Let's go.
- [grunts.]
- Oops.
Do I need a lawyer? That's up to you, Vince.
[cell phone vibrating.]
Who's Karen? My wife.
Look, I really need to take that.
Yeah, she's called a couple of times already.
What were you doing with a 14-year-old girl? What are you talking about? You know, you need to be smart about this.
We have you on videotape.
We have a witness.
Deliliah's on her way down here to ID you right now.
You got kids as well, Vince? Two, boys.
If you ever wanna see your kids again, you're gonna tell us who sold that girl to you.
- What sold? - Yeah.
Then we might let you take the next call your wife makes.
[cell phone vibrates.]
That's your kid? [cell phone vibrates.]
[dramatic music.]
Look, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know she was on something.
When she started zoning out, I tried to help her.
I took her to the hospital.
That was the right thing to do, wasn't it? You heard that, Sarge, right? Yeah.
So you are the person who brought her to the hospital? Yeah.
Okay, you're free to go.
What, really? No, asshole.
Sit down.
You don't get brownie points after raping a kid.
Now where did the girl come from? Huh? No? Okay, I'm just gonna call Billy back.
Let him know where his father is.
No, wait, wait.
When I was in town last year for the auto show, I got a number off a back page before they shut down.
Luke.
Okay.
So you're gonna call this Luke and you're gonna tell him that you're hanging onto Delilah for an extra day.
And you have a friend that's interested.
Then we'll let you talk to your wife.
Let me ask you something, Lieu.
What's what what's going on with Rollins? If you have a question about Rollins, why don't you try asking her? She's pregnant.
Isn't she? Really, Carisi? - Are you telling me she's not pregnant? - Really? [dramatic music.]
- You Thompson? - Yeah.
You got all of it? This is for me.
This is extra for Vince.
Come on up.
You're gonna like what you see.
Sweethearts.
Come on, get up.
Meet a new friend of mine.
Okay.
This the merchandise? Uh, yeah, except for Delilah.
She's with your friend, Vince, the lucky dog.
What about that one right there? Oh, yeah.
She's not on the menu just yet.
Come on, I got some more over this way.
Come on.
Girls, girls, come here.
- Let's go.
- Come here.
Come on.
Got a friend I want you to meet.
Come on.
So I can pick one and do whatever? Within reason.
But you mess up my investment, that would not be cool.
You look like a guy with impeccable taste.
Have you made a decision? I have.
You're under arrest.
Stop! Police! [grunts.]
[girls shouting.]
[police chattering.]
Liv, there's a little one over here.
Carisi! - You got him? - Yeah.
[groans.]
Don't worry.
I'm the police.
Hey, sweetie.
You're okay.
- You're okay.
- Por favor.
You're okay.
No me lastimes.
No, no, no.
Estoy con la policia.
No me lleves.
Don't take me.
[heavy breathing.]
So why did you run away from your parents? Duh.
They freaking hate me.
And how long ago did you meet up with Luke? Did he approach you? So at the bus station, Luke said he'd take care of you? Mmhmm.
Yeah.
He brought me McDonald's and these really sick kicks, so - Hey.
- Hey.
- They're so young.
- Yeah.
And two of them escaped violent homes.
Uh, another one was living with her demented grandmother and ran out of food.
We're trying to get the details on the rest of the kids.
You know, we're just trying to keep them comfortable until we can place them somewhere.
Where'd your perp find them? Uh, on the street.
In a park.
One was actually plucked from a playground.
He has a talent for spotting, uh, vulnerability.
Why do they stay with him? They think they're contributing to the household.
He has them utterly manipulated.
- Except for one.
- Are you thirsty? She's afraid of the guy that we collared.
And even more afraid of us.
Can we start with your name? You need to meet uncle Luke.
Mr.
Frances, I'm ADA Stone.
Ah, brought in the big guns with some big guns.
Is he gonna smack me around? No, but I might, after what you did to those girls.
Give them a home? Give them food? I take in homeless, abused children.
What the jury will hear is you on tape selling children for sex.
I was selling their company.
They're at an age where I can't control their every move.
Who do you think you're talking to here? I love those girls.
And they love me.
They could have gotten up and left any time they wanted to.
- And did they? - You brainwashed them.
I saved them.
That youngest one, she's completely traumatized.
Oh, yeah, my little my little Gabriela.
- Where'd you find her? - I rescued her.
Wandering around Port Authority like she was on another planet.
She could have done far worse than Uncle Luke.
Trust me.
You are one twisted son of a bitch, you know that? I'm gonna make it my personal mission that you never lay your hands on another girl.
Yeah, blah, blah, blah.
I want a lawyer now.
Knock yourself out.
'Cause it's not gonna matter.
[dramatic music.]
[door opens.]
Hey.
So your name's Gabriela, huh? What's your last name? - Sosa.
- Sosa.
You know some English.
Right? Who taught you? Your parents? You took a bus to New York? To the Port Authority? - Yes.
- Yeah? Where did you take the bus from? I don't like to go back.
Okay.
Is your family bad to you? - No.
- You can tell me.
You know I'm here to help you.
Now, can you tell me where you live? I want my mommy.
[sniffs.]
Okay.
[crying.]
Okay, we can talk about it later.
I couldn't get a whole lot out of her.
I mean, she's exhausted.
She's distressed.
And maybe I can try a little later when she trusts me some more.
Okay.
Uh, where are we on the two girls that were abused? We reached out to ACS in their local precincts.
- They'll follow up on the allegations.
- The other three? On the way back to their families.
Hopefully this will be a wake up call for them.
So we have one more to go.
Let's put Gabriela through NCMEC.
It's Gabriela Sosa.
[typing.]
[beeping.]
All right, I got a name match.
It's a, uh, missing persons alert from Elizabeth, New Jersey.
That's a bus ride away.
Her parents reported her missing? No, it's the New Jersey Department of Children and Families.
She was in foster care.
Did I tell you about my cousin Nikki? She's having another kid.
You believe that? - Is that three? - Five.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
Hey Rollins, why didn't you tell me? Tell you what? All right.
Son Sonny, it was hey, I tried to.
I I just I didn't know how.
Don't don't start asking me questions right now.
And and don't go all Catholic on me, okay? You're the detectives from New York? Yeah, Rollins, Carisi.
We've been waiting for weeks for some news about Gabriela.
Well, we need you to ID a photo for us.
[dramatic music.]
It's her.
They found her.
Thank God.
Wh how in the world did she get to New York City? You tell us.
Your one job is to keep the child you're fostering safe.
Please don't be angry with us.
We did the best we could to make her comfortable here, but after all she's been through She's very distrustful of Americans in general.
What do you mean? Well, you've you've seen the news.
You know what's been going on.
She was brought to us after she came across the border, after our government separated her from her mother.
Gabriela and her mother Maria were picked up near the border in June.
Maria was arrested for unlawful entry.
Gabriela told us the agent grabbed her right out of her mother's arms.
That's insane.
Have a seat, please.
Uh, from what we understand, Gabriela was brought to some detention facility for kids in Texas.
So how did she get to you in Jersey? We registered as a temporary foster family when we read about the situation at the border.
We felt we could at least provide a loving and nurturing home.
It's better than being locked up in some vacant megastore or an Army base in the desert.
I truly admire you for taking this on.
I know that it couldn't have been easy.
Gabriela wouldn't even look at us the first few days.
All she did was sit on the floor and cry for her mom.
But, uh, we, uh we finally got her to eat and play a little with our boys.
Did the foster agency provide you with a contact for Maria? We tried.
There was, uh, an 800 number where you're supposed to be able to arrange a call.
At first they couldn't locate her.
And then it was always busy.
A few days later my son told us that Gabriela had asked him how to get to Texas.
He said you take a plane from New York.
He didn't think she would actually try to do it.
What's your favorite kind of ice cream, Gabriela? Vanilla.
My favorite is salted caramel chocolate chip.
Okay, they got that at your local bodega? They special order it for me.
Mmm.
Gabriela, why'd you run away? Were the Wellbecks nice people? Yes.
Very nice.
But I miss my mommy.
It make me sad.
You know your mother's very far away, right? Yes.
Why la migra take her, Miss Amanda? Because when your mother crossed the border, she broke the laws of our country.
But what did I do? You didn't do anything wrong, sweetie.
So, what? What's gonna happen to her? We can't send her back to the Wellbecks.
- We're sure about that? - She'd just run away again.
Look, guys, we have an obligation to notify the Office of Refugee Resettlement and let them know that we have her here.
They'll send her to one of their tender age centers.
I'll take her.
Rollins, you can't take her.
You took Noah.
I did.
[dramatic music.]
And this is very different.
Not much.
Could you remember you remember Esther, the last girl we let walk out of here? [sighs.]
Rollins, you can't take her.
[door opens.]
Tracked down Maria Sosa's immigration lawyer.
She's at La Tuna Federal Detention Center now.
He's on his way there right now and he said he's pretty sure he can set up a video call with Maria.
We go through Guatemala because my neighbor was killed by La Mara.
He saw them kill a man.
So they drag him into the street and shoot him.
I get money from my family and take Gabriela with the coyote to Mexico.
But he leave us at the border.
Entonces, we have to cross alone.
And I was arrested by La Migra.
They put me in the jail and a man come and he take Gabriela.
She was holding me and crying, and he just pulled her away.
I can't get the sound of my baby calling for me out of my head.
Maria was arrested for illegal entry.
I'm filing an asylum petition on her behalf.
But the way things are going, it could be months if not years before everything's adjudicated.
Until then, she's incarcerated here.
Come.
Gabriela, this way.
Please, please.
- Mami, soy yo.
- Mi niña.
Mi bebe.
[both speaking Spanish.]
Si, Mami.
- Okay, time to shut it down.
- Can we get two more minutes? No, turn the camera away, ma'am, and terminate the call immediately.
Adios, mi niña.
[speaking Spanish.]
Mami, no.
No, Mami.
[crying.]
It's okay.
It's okay.
So now this this poor kid is is sleeping on a cot in our overnight room in the squad while one of our detectives, Carisi, babysits her.
I mean, the feds are picking her up tomorrow.
That's rough.
What, she's what, ten? - Yeah.
- Wow.
I I don't know how you guys do what you do.
- [sighs.]
- You're amazing.
Thank you.
Sometimes it doesn't feel that way.
No, that's that kind of empathy.
It's special.
Well, you weren't so bad yourself with, uh, Jesse the other night.
I love kids.
I almost did my residency in pediatrics, - but, uh - Oh, really? Honestly I was, uh, 200k deep in student loan debt and I was damn good in the OR, so I went for the money.
Hmm.
Ah.
I remember you once liked Chablis.
Domaine Francois Marchand, 2015, Grand Cru.
Thanks.
[sniffs.]
Lovely.
- Keep it chilled for you.
- Thank you.
To second chances? Or third, if we're keeping score.
- [groans.]
- [chuckles.]
What? Al, I'm pregnant.
[dramatic music.]
[scoffs.]
Fourth of July, the one night we, um [laughs.]
Wow.
Well, you know, whatever you decide.
I could you know, I could go with you to the procedure and take care of all that if that's what you wanted to do.
How'd the babysitting go? Eh, played 19 games of checkers and I, uh I learned to read "Green Eggs and Ham" in Spanish.
No me gusto los huevos verde.
Ni el jamón, my friend.
Rollins is on kid duty right now.
I'm looking for Lieutenant Benson.
Who are you? Jeff Phelps, Office of Refugee Resettlement.
I'm here to pick up Gabriela Sosa.
Liv.
This is Mr.
Phelps.
He's a refugee officer from ORR.
Lieutenant Benson.
I'm I take it you have some paperwork.
Fin.
So where you taking her? She'll be housed at Fort Stirling.
Oh, so she'll be at an Army base behind razor wire.
No, Lieutenant.
She'll be in a dorm-like setting with other minors.
It's almost like summer camp.
Summer camp.
Except she doesn't go home to her family.
I don't make the rules, Lieutenant.
Gabriela, um, this is Officer Phelps.
And I'm so sorry, but he he has to take you - No.
- It's going to be okay, dear.
Please, please.
Don't take me again.
What why don't we wait, what? What do you mean by, "Again?" He was the man who take me away from my mother.
[heavy breathing.]
Is that true? I was at the border when Maria Sosa was processed.
I took custody of Gabriela and escorted her and several other children to the foster agency here in the city.
So you're the one that separated her from her mother? That was the policy, detective.
I'm sure you're aware of that.
Okay.
Fin, Carisi, arrest Officer Phelps.
Liv? And place him in a holding cell.
Is this some kind of sick joke? You're being charged with kidnapping in the second degree.
For doing my job? You abducted a minor and transported her against her will to New York City.
That's a class B felony in this state.
You're gonna be sorry about this, Lieutenant.
Very sorry.
Give him his phone call and a bologna sandwich.
NYPD Special Victims Unit has arrested an agent in the Office of Refugee Resettlement for the kidnapping of a nine-year-old girl named Gabriela Sosa who's being evaluated now by Children Services.
Where did this kidnapping occur, Lieutenant? Officer Phelps initiated the abduction in Texas and the minor was transported here into Manhattan.
How do you expect the federal government to react to this? That's not my concern.
A serious felony was committed here.
Does this really affect the safety of the everyday New Yorker, Lieutenant? Well, as a result of this abduction, uh, Gabriela Sosa a nine-year-old child found herself in the arms of a child sex trafficker.
How is Gabriela doing? She's doing as well as can be expected.
But she was deeply traumatized, like many of the children.
So I have no doubt that That there will be long-term, uh, serious emotional and psychological consequences for her.
Thank you so much.
That's all for now.
[all speaking at once.]
Lieutenant, lieutenant! - You arrested a federal agent? - That's right.
Who was just doing his job.
And I was just doing my job.
And what's your next move now, Olivia? Do you actually think this is gonna stick? Come on, Peter.
I'm not that naive.
Well then what are you doing? I have every media outlet in the city putting this story out there.
I was doing it to make a point.
I don't prosecute cases to make points.
Well then I will find someone who will.
[dramatic music.]
Weren't you the one that told me that the only wars worth fighting for are the ones you can't win? [knocking.]
I'm Kim Caldwell, U.
S.
Department of Justice.
This is a federal writ of habeas corpus demanding the release of ORR officer Jeff Phelps.
See you in court at 4:00 p.
m.
, Lieutenant.
Are you in? Let me show you what you're fighting for.
[door opens.]
- Hello, Gabriela.
- Hi, Miss Olivia.
Honey, this is my friend Peter.
Hi, Mr.
Peter.
I make a picture of my house in Guatemala.
It's beautiful.
Yes, it is.
Thank you.
There are 3,000 more Gabrielas.
If you have to walk away from this, I understand, but I can't.
Kidnapping is defined as forcibly depriving a person of her freedom by holding her against her will.
It is beyond dispute the Refugee Officer Phelps did precisely that to Gabriela Sosa.
As the government does to millions of prisoners - every day.
- Gabriela was not a prisoner.
She's a nine-year-old child who did nothing wrong.
Except enter this country illegally with her mother.
Do you concede that fact, Mr.
Stone? For the purpose of this argument, I would.
But that doesn't give the government the right to forcibly separate her from her parents.
Flores v.
Reno says we can't keep them together.
No, it says we can't incarcerate them together.
And the state of New York criminalizes transporting that child here against her will.
These acts were done under the color of federal law.
Not law, Your Honor.
But a DOJ policy directive known as Zero Tolerance.
Either way, it's clear the petitioner was acting in good faith.
That doesn't relieve him of his criminal liability for the ongoing abduction of this girl here in New York.
I would remind Mr.
Stone of the supremacy clause - in article six of the Constitution.
- Oh, my God.
Simply stated, Your Honor, federal law trumps state law.
Okay, Your Honor, what are we doing here? We're talking about a nine-year-old child.
You are out of order, Lieutenant Benson.
The government ripped this little girl out of her mother's arms.
Somebody somewhere needs to stop this.
Liv, Liv.
[sighs.]
- Your Honor.
- Thank you.
It's all right.
It's all right.
[sighs.]
Why don't you, uh, have a seat while I order us some pizza for dinner? [groans.]
Do you have a baby? Yeah, her name is Jesse.
She's three years old.
A baby in there? Yeah, I do.
Can I feel? Well, um, yeah, okay.
Do you want the baby to be a girl or a boy? I'm not sure.
When I see my mother, I tell her that I want to have a little brother.
[dramatic music.]
I have been asked to rule on the legality of the arrest of a federal officer by state law enforcement, not to hold forth on the wisdom of our country's immigration policy.
And while the separation of Gabriela Sosa and her mother is disturbing and ill advised, it's tangential to the issue raised by this writ.
I hold that federal immigration policy overrides any claim by the state that a kidnapping has been committed.
The detention of Officer Phelps is therefore illegal.
He should be released from custody forthwith.
[gavel clacks.]
[sighs.]
At least we tried.
Yeah, we lost a battle.
Maybe [sighs.]
Maybe we'll win the war.
Pretty good, huh? Muy bueno.
Will I be sleeping here tonight? I really don't know, Gabriela.
No.
No! - No.
- Gabriela - I want to stay here.
- I know.
I know, sweetie, but I'm I'm afraid that you have to go with Officer Phelps.
I don't want to.
I know.
We don't have a choice, honey.
Please, Miss Olivia.
Gabriela, listen to me.
Listen to me.
Now's the time when you need to be strong.
Right? Fuerte.
You're going to see your mother again.
When? I don't know the answer to that right now.
I wish I did.
But we are gonna do everything that we can to help you.
Everything.
Do you understand that? Si.
- Okay.
- Just don't forget me.
Oh, we won't.
It's time.
Okay, just remember, Gabriela.
Fuerte.
Fuerte.
Fuerte, honey.
So, uh, how's Special Victims working out? [laughs.]
It's, uh, not what I expected.
[laughs.]
You should, uh you should meet this Lieutenant.
Ah, I always had you figured for a lifer in homicide.
A lifer? Yeah, maybe.
You enjoying the big city? You know me.
All work and no play.
So, let's cut to the chase.
You didn't come all this way for a catch up.
Yeah, you're right.
I need your help.
Cops I'm working with, they liberated an undocumented nine-year-old from a sex trafficker.
We're trying to reunite her with her mother.
Mother's here in Chicago? Texas.
In federal detention for illegal entry.
It's out of my jurisdiction, don't you think? Come on, Mark.
You have more connections inside the Beltway than Potomac Edison.
This immigration stuff is getting tricky these days to say the least.
We're not making policy here.
It's one child, one parent.
And you really think this is gonna make a difference? You know, when I was a kid, my grandfather had a cottage in the Dunes in Rhode Island.
We would get up early and we'd walk the beaches together.
One morning there was thousands of sea turtle hatchlings crawling towards the surf.
And we could see that the tide was going out, and most of them weren't going to make it.
And I said, "Grandpa, these baby turtles are going to die.
" [dramatic music.]
And he picked up a hatchling and he walked it to the water.
"This one won't.
"And this one won't.
And this one won't.
" This mother's grounds for asylum, they're solid? 50/50.
I'll see what I can do.
No promises.
Hey, anybody wanna get a beer? Oh, man.
I promised Ken and Alejandro I'd babysit tonight.
- What about you? Non-alcoholic? - What's the point? Besides, after this Gabriela thing, I'd need something a lot stiffer than a beer.
That's why anybody wants to come to this country to work for the American Dream, they should be allowed - to do that.
- Really? I mean, political asylum, that's okay.
But just because Maria's neighbor got shot by a gang? That doesn't qualify.
I don't know, Fin.
What that woman had to go through to get to the border, she must have been terrorized.
And who takes care of them once they get here? I mean, separating kids from their parents, that's barbaric.
But there's still a problem.
I think immigrants can take care of themselves.
My great grandfather came to this country from Torino when he was 12 years old.
And I bet you he didn't have public housing, food stamps, and Medicaid.
Most of these people, they get jobs.
And they're jobs that Americans don't want.
"Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
" Yeah, and that's a great poem, but it's all garbage.
My people came here 300 years ago in chains, and I still can't breathe free.
[dramatic music.]
- Amanda.
- Yeah.
Um, your office told me where to find you.
Well, they're not supposed to, but - I pulled rank.
- Oh.
Is everything okay? Yeah, I don't I don't wanna make a big thing.
Um I'm having this baby.
I don't need anything from you.
Hi, we're here to see Gabriela Sosa.
Is she stationed here, ma'am? She's one of the children who's being detained here.
I'm sorry, ma'am.
Those types of visits are not authorized.
Get your CO down here right now.
I'm sorry, sir.
I'm not authorized to do that.
Listen, son.
I didn't hunt through the mountains of Quang Tri for three years to have a babyfaced MP tell me what's authorized.
Am I clear? Uh Soldier! Yes, sir.
That was fun.
[dramatic music.]
I can't believe what I'm seeing.
Gabriela Sosa? Step forward.
[groans.]
You have the release orders? [crying.]
Mi niña.
- Mi amor.
- Mami.
- [speaking Spanish.]
- Mami.
Mami.
Oh! [speaking Spanish.]
Here you go.
Thank you.
[both speaking Spanish.]
How in the world did you and Stone pull this off? The supervising judge in the 5th circuit grew up in Chicago.
We trained at the same gym.
Peter threw together the asylum petition and Judge Connors pushed it through.
[both crying.]
Thank you.
Welcome to America.
This way, please.
[gates rattling.]