Gang Crackdown, The 1x60

Some 25 dead bodies have been found on Long Island since September of 2016. Dozens of immigrant teenagers are missing. Who is behind the wave of killings on Long Island—and is law enforcement’s crackdown on suspected MS-13 gang members detaining the real culprits, or innocent teens? In The Gang Crackdown, FRONTLINE investigates how a slew of gruesome killings on Long Island allegedly by the MS-13 gang led to a sweeping dragnet of immigrant kids—many of whom have been accused of having gang affiliation with little evidence and held in detention without charge for months. Drawing on interviews with murder victims’ families, top Justice Department officials, local law enforcement leadership, accused gang members, prosecutors and defense lawyers, the documentary explores the impact of both the killings and the anti-gang crackdown on Long Island—home to one of the U.S.’s largest communities of unaccompanied migrant children fleeing violence from Central America. As President Trump declares war on MS-13 and points to the killings on Long Island to justify efforts to ramp up deportations, the film investigates the fraught relationship between immigrant communities and law enforcement, and whether the crackdown is making Long Island safer.

Inflight rights also available.

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