Law & Order SVU “Zero Tolerance” was a ripped-from-the-headlines story based upon immigration policies which caused parents and children - crossing the U.S./Mexican border without proper documentation - to be separated and detained, with no meaningful procedures in place to properly reunite them. The Trump administration’s one-size-fits-all policy of zero tolerance when it comes to the treatment of undocumented immigrants created not only an administrative hairball, but it also has likely traumatized many children who were separated from their families. It was inhumane treatment.
We heard the detectives voice their opinions on this issue. Carisi seems to have a “let anybody in who wants to come in” attitude; Rollins is of the opinion that these people want jobs that Americans don’t want. Fin questions whether Maria really fits the political asylum mold, and things like public housing, food stamps, and Medicaid were not available to immigrants coming in at the time of Carisi’s grandfather. Fin is correct in that regard; my grandparents came in legally in the late 1890s – early 1900s and they needed to have sponsors and they had no public assistance available. Fin is also correct when he describes how his ancestors came in, and their decedents are still fighting for freedom and all the benefits this country can provide. Immigration is a tough issue, but this episode only glosses over it by taking one child and one instance and fixing one problem. At the end of the episode, they hint to the magnitude of the problem. Sadly, we really don’t get a feel for the real administrative nightmare and the trauma of the families that the zero tolerance policy has caused. It seems Maria has a lawyer, she could easily do a video call, and Stone and Jefferies pull strings to work the system for a happy ending for Maria and Gabriella. The drama was lacking. For once, it would have been interesting to see Benson and the team fail.
Benson remains too emotionally involved in the case, to the point that she has an outburst in the courtroom. That happens after she arrests a government worker for doing his job, without consulting Stone before doing so. Yet again she ropes him into her crusade. I appreciate her passion to right the wrongs of this world, but she’s not a detective anymore, she’s management. She can still fight these battles but she needs to do it in a manner that is respectful of her colleagues and the system that others are forced to work with. Yes, the system is broken, and yes, helping one person is better than helping none. It left me wondering if it would have been easier for Benson to work WITH the agent from the Office of Refugee Resettlement rather than arrest him. Should Benson have called in a psychiatrist to talk with Gabriella to see if she should have been placed elsewhere first because of psychological trauma? Possibly that would have kept her out of the ORR system.
The moral of the story: if you have connections in this world, use them to get your own priorities addressed. Without Stone and Jefferies, Benson wouldn’t have succeeded in reuniting Gabriella and Maria. Now Benson must live with the fact that her efforts did nothing to help all the others trapped in the system.
Rollins seems on the fence with her relationship with her doctor friend and father of her baby, Al. He seems good with Jesse. But when she tells him that she is pregnant, he goes right to thinking about being there for her if she chose an abortion. I suspect this is what helped Rollins to decide to keep the baby. Of course, we know there was no way it would be anything else as Kelli is pregnant in real life, so there was no drama here as far as Rollins' choice. Rollins finally tells Carisi about her pregnancy, saying she tried to tell him before but “didn’t know how.” I know they are friends but why would it be so hard for Rollins, an adult woman, to tell a friend and colleague? Are we supposed to think that he felt the relationship was more than friendship and he would be upset?
I did enjoy the line when Benson tells the detectives to take the government rep and give him his phone call…and a baloney sandwich. It was also great to see Carl Weathers reprising his role from “Chicago Justice.” (They really didn’t give that series much of a chance.)
The immigration issue is a continuing problem and there are varying, often conflicting opinions. Part of the problem is that immigration isn’t a “one-size-fits all” issue. The U.S. is a wonderful country with opportunities for all. Some countries are hell to live in and I can understand why some want to escape from those places for a chance for a better life. On the flip side, border agents must be cautious when children are crossing illegally with adults to be sure that these children are not being trafficked. Some states close to the Mexican border are feeling the strain from undocumented immigrants on their support systems and finances. Illegal immigration has been a problem for decades and will continue to be so until our elected representatives and government officials can find a system that works. But it is not an issue that some bureaucrat can solve with cookie-cutter rules, so I don't expect quick changes.
Here is the recap:
Rollins and Jesse are at home. Dr. Al Pollack comes for a visit, with “apology flowers”. Rollins is annoyed and Pollack tries to connect with Jesse. Rollins has an uncertain but somewhat contented look.
On Thursday, September 27, a man has someone drive him to the hospital with a sick child. The passenger dumps the child off at the emergency entrance and orders the driver to leave.
Later, Benson and Carisi are at the hospital and they speak with the girl, Delilah. She doesn’t recall how she got there, she says uncle Luke, who is not really her uncle, gave her pills. She says he sent her on a date with one of her friends. He never makes her go back if she doesn’t want to and he loves her. She asks that they not take him away.
Back at SVU, the detectives discuss what they know and look at the camera footage of Delilah being dumped. They work to find the driver who seems to be from Uber or a car service.
At Rumarque Car & Limo on Friday September 28, Fin and Rollins speak with the driver. He wanted to call the police but he admits he is illegal. He got robbed previously. He describes the man who he picked up and from where.
As they leave the car service, Fin starts to handle the issue and Rollins takes offense that he is treating her like a ride-along. Fin wants Carisi to meet them there. At an apartment building, Fin, Carisi, and Rollins ask the residents about the man they are trying to find, and one points them to a man, Vince, in 4B, an Air bnb rental. They knock on the door and then when Vince opens it, they barge their way in and find a shoe that looks like it would belong to a young girl. Rollins takes a photo of Vince. They arrest him. As they take him out of the room, Rollins bumps Vince into a doorway on purpose and says “Oops.” Carisi picks up Vince’s phone.
At SVU, in interrogation with Fin and Rollins, Vince's phone, now on the table, begins to buzz. He says it is his wife Karen. They question him about Delilah. The caller now shows as Billy, his son. He apologizes and says he didn’t know Delilah was on something and when she started zoning out, her took her to the hospital. They continue to pressure him and he admits he called a man named Luke he got while at an auto show. They tell him to call Luke and say he is hanging on to Delilah for an extra day and has another person who is interested.
Later, Benson and Carisi wait at a location in a car while Fin waits outside. Carisi asks Benson what is going on with Rollins and she suggests he ask Rollins. He guesses she is pregnant. A man approaches Fin and arranges for Fin to come up and see the girls. The man has several young girls and one is in a cage. Luke says she is not on the menu yet. Benson and Carisi exit the car, and as Fin tells Luke he is under arrest, the others burst in. As they reassure the girl, Benson tries to calm the frightened girl in the cage.
Back at SVU, Peter Stone arrives as the detectives speak with the girls. Stone and Benson confer. Luke found these girls in vulnerable situations and he has them utterly manipulated except the one they found in the cage. She is afraid of the guy they arrested and afraid of them. Carisi takes Stone in to meet Luke Frances. He tries to give them a line of BS but they aren’t buying it. He asks for a lawyer.
Meanwhile, Rollins speaks with the terrified girl, Gabriella Sosa. She says she took a bus to the Port Authority. Rollins tries to connect with her, but she says she wants her mommy and she cries.
Rollins later explains she will try talking to her later. Two of the girls will go to ACS and their local precincts, the other three are on the way back to their families. Benson suggests they put Gabriella through NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children), and the find a missing persons alert from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. She was in foster care.
