‘Law & Order: SVU’ Fans Praise ‘Amazing, Powerful’ Episode on Trump Immigration Policy

Law & Order: SVU‘s 20th season continued this week with a heartbreaking case involving child sex trafficking and the impact of President Donald Trump’s policies along the U.S.-Mexico border. Fans at home were deeply moved by the story of a young girl separated from her mother at the border, with some suggesting it was one of the series’ best episodes.

“The situation at the border has been unconscionable and cruel,” Mariska Hargitay tweeted during the episode. “As we speak there are still countless children who are separated from their families because of our government’s actions. We can do better. We must do better.”

In “Zero Tolerance,” the team broke up a child sex trafficking ring and discovered the pimp was holding a young Latino girl, Gabriela Sosa. Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Stone (Philip Winchester) tried to use what they learned to find Gabriela’s mother.

The team discovered that Gabriela was in the New Jersey foster system. When they interrogate her foster parents, they learn she was separated from her mother at the border, making her very distrustful of Americans.

The parents registered as foster parents to help a child separated from a parent who was arrested for illegally entering the country. Benson tried to brainstorm ways to figure out where Gabriela’s mother is. Rollins (Kelli Giddish) offered to take her in, but the team did find out where Gabriela’s mother was.

Meanwhile, Amanda Rollins decided to give her relationship with Dr. Al Pollack (guest star George Newbern) another shot. Rollins revealed in last week’s season premiere she is pregnant, but has yet to disclose who the father is.

Later, Benson took an incredible risk by arresting a federal agent for abduction, even though he was following orders. Stone was really disappointed by her decision, but Benson stuck to her guns and introduced Stone to Gabriela. The move worked and he decided to continue the prosecution.

This meant the final act of the episode found Stone litigating the federal “zero tolerance” policy. Unfortunately for Benson and Stone, the agent had to be released because federal policy still takes precedent over state and local laws. The agent then had to take custody of Gabriela.

Stone later went to Chicago to get help from Jefferies (Carl Weathers), who agreed to see what he could do. Although Jeffries was not sure if he could help, he managed to pull off a miracle, reuniting mother and daughter.

Like so many other stories SVU has told in the past two decades, “Zero Tolerance” was another one ripped from the headlines. There are cases of child sex trafficking uncovered across the country almost every day. In April 2018, the New York Post published an expose on sex trafficking in New York City.

“This is going on everywhere. Down the street, in the rich neighborhood, the poor — whether you’re white, yellow, green, blue. It cuts across different ethnicities, religious backgrounds, economic backgrounds,” Laura Riso, an FBI victims specialist, told The Post. “It’s enormous.”

In 2017, the New York Police Department said they rescued one person a week from sex slavery and arrested 228 pimps during 265 sex trafficking cases, double the statistics from 2016. However, police said the problem is just getting worse.

“People are shocked to hear that it actually exists in New York City,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. told The Post.

The episode’s main focus was on the impact of Trump’s policies on the border. Last spring, there was outrage over the administration for separating children from their parents. There are still children who have not been reunited.

New episodes of SVU air Thursdays on NBC at 10 p.m. ET.

Photo credit: NBC