To Serve & Protect | Coming to America (VICE on HBO: Season 3, Episode 2)

Summary

This video from Vice explores two major issues: the increasing militarization of American police forces and the immigration crisis at the southern U.S. border. It highlights how police departments are using military-grade equipment, leading to aggressive tactics, particularly in events like the Ferguson protests. The video also delves into the perilous journeys of Central American migrants, many of whom flee violence and ride dangerous trains, only to face tough immigration enforcement. Both segments emphasize the complex social and political implications of these issues in the U.S.

Takeaways

• 🚓 The militarization of police forces in America has escalated, with local police using military-grade equipment, sparking controversy.
• 💥 The 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, triggered protests and a national debate on police militarization and race relations.
• 🛡️ The 1033 Program initiated by the U.S. government provides surplus military equipment to local police departments, leading to the use of tanks, helicopters, and assault rifles by law enforcement.
• ⚔️ The 'War on Drugs' metaphor became literal under the Reagan administration, contributing to police militarization as a strategy to combat drug crimes.
• 🎯 SWAT teams and police are trained more in using military equipment rather than de-escalation and conflict resolution, leading to more aggressive policing tactics.
• 😡 Public backlash against the aggressive policing has increased, with concerns that police are acting more like an occupying force than public servants.
• 🇸🇻 The script also highlights the Central American immigration crisis, where families and unaccompanied children take dangerous journeys to flee gang violence, particularly in El Salvador.
• 🚂 Migrants travel on top of dangerous trains like 'The Beast,' facing threats from cartels, dangerous terrain, and often being detained or deported by Mexican authorities.
• 🛑 Many migrants are fleeing extreme gang violence, with El Salvador's gang problem tracing back to deported criminals from the U.S. in the 1980s.
• 🏛️ Despite government efforts in both Mexico and the U.S. to curb migration, people continue to flee violence, showing that immigration is driven by deeper social issues.

Q & A

What is the central theme of the Vice episode?

The central theme of the Vice episode focuses on two major issues: the militarization of the police in America and the immigration crisis at the southern border, particularly the dangers faced by migrants from Central America.

How did the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown impact the national conversation on policing?

The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 sparked nationwide protests, raising concerns about police brutality and the militarization of law enforcement, and led to polarizing reactions across the country.

What role did federal programs play in militarizing local police forces?

Federal programs like the 1033 program, started under President Bush in 1990, allowed local police departments to obtain military-grade equipment such as armored vehicles, tanks, and assault rifles. These programs were initially tied to the War on Drugs but expanded to cover broader policing needs.

What is the significance of the 1033 program in relation to police militarization?

The 1033 program is significant because it transferred military surplus gear to local police departments, including tanks, helicopters, and grenade launchers, for use in everyday policing. This contributed heavily to the militarization of American law enforcement.

What criticisms are presented regarding the militarization of the police?

Critics argue that police departments have become too militarized, using battlefield equipment in situations where it's unnecessary. This has led to excessive force, particularly against civilians and protesters, and a mentality that police are in constant warfare, which worsens community relations.

How has the War on Drugs contributed to police militarization?

The War on Drugs, particularly during the Reagan Administration, emphasized aggressive tactics against drug-related crime, which resulted in the transfer of military equipment to police and a war-like mentality in law enforcement.

What is the purpose of police tactical gear conventions, as mentioned in the script?

Police tactical gear conventions serve as venues where law enforcement agencies can purchase military-style equipment, such as armored vehicles and assault rifles. These conventions are supported by grants from the Department of Homeland Security.

What are some of the dangers faced by migrants riding the trains, known as 'The Beast,' to the U.S. border?

Migrants riding 'The Beast' face numerous dangers, including falling off the trains, being exposed to harsh weather, and violent threats from cartels who kidnap, rob, and kill migrants. Additionally, women face a high risk of sexual violence.

Why are so many migrants, including children, fleeing countries like El Salvador?

Many migrants are fleeing violence, poverty, and gang activity in countries like El Salvador. The country has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with gangs extorting, threatening, and killing civilians, prompting families to make the dangerous journey to the U.S.

What challenges do migrants face once they reach the U.S. border?

Once at the U.S. border, migrants often face detention by immigration authorities. Despite apprehensions, many migrants, like Sandra and her family, hope for a safer life in the U.S., but their future is uncertain and depends on immigration court decisions.

Outlines

00:00

🚔 The Militarization of Police in America

This paragraph introduces the growing trend of police militarization in the U.S., where law enforcement agencies acquire increasingly larger and more sophisticated military-style vehicles and weapons. It sets the stage for exploring the consequences of these changes, using the Ferguson protests as an example of how militarized police responses can escalate tensions between law enforcement and communities.

05:00

💣 The War on Drugs and Its Impact on Policing

This section delves into the origins of police militarization, tracing it back to the Reagan Administration’s War on Drugs. It highlights how federal grants and programs like the 1033 program allowed local police departments to acquire military-grade equipment, originally intended for drug enforcement. The shift from civilian policing to battlefield tactics is explored as a key contributor to the current state of aggressive policing in the U.S.

10:02

🔫 SWAT Teams and the Use of Military Gear in Everyday Policing

This paragraph focuses on how SWAT teams, originally designed for high-risk situations, are now deployed in routine law enforcement activities. It highlights how police are often trained more in the use of military-style weapons than in de-escalation techniques, raising concerns about the appropriateness of such tactics for civilian policing. The paragraph questions whether this training is leading to more violent police responses.

15:03

🚨 Crossing the Line: The Problem with Militarized Policing

Here, the script transitions to a critique of police militarization, with former police officers and experts expressing concerns. The paragraph emphasizes how dressing police officers like soldiers can change their mentality, leading to a reliance on force rather than decision-making. It argues that militarized policing turns law enforcement into an 'occupational force,' alienating communities and exacerbating conflict.

20:04

🚂 The Dangerous Journey of Central American Migrants

The paragraph shifts to a new topic, exploring the dangerous journeys undertaken by Central American migrants, particularly children, as they flee violence and poverty. It introduces 'The Beast,' a network of freight trains used by migrants to travel across Mexico. The perils of this journey, including violence, robbery, and the threat of being kidnapped by cartels, are emphasized.

25:05

🔫 The Gangs of El Salvador: Root Causes of Migration

This section focuses on the gangs in El Salvador, whose violence has forced many to flee the country. It describes how gangs like MS-13 and 18th Street were originally formed in the U.S. and later deported to El Salvador, where they now control large parts of the country. The rise in violence, extortion, and murder has created a climate of fear that drives people, especially families with children, to undertake dangerous migration journeys.

🚔 The Never-Ending War Against Gangs in El Salvador

This paragraph follows the Salvadoran anti-gang unit as they conduct raids against members of the notorious 18th Street gang. It highlights the difficulty of combatting these gangs, which were originally deported from the U.S. and have since flourished in El Salvador. The cycle of violence perpetuated by deported gang members is portrayed as a key factor driving migration out of the country.

🌍 The Migrant Crisis: A Cycle of Violence and Migration

The final paragraph wraps up by discussing the broader immigration crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border. It portrays the resilience of migrants who continue to make the dangerous journey north despite increased deportations and border enforcement. The paragraph concludes with the story of Sandra, a Salvadoran mother who, despite numerous obstacles, made it to the U.S. with her children, highlighting the human cost and complexity of the immigration debate.

Keywords

💡Militarization of Police

The militarization of police refers to the increasing use of military-grade equipment, tactics, and vehicles by local police forces. In the video, this concept is illustrated through the portrayal of police using armored vehicles, assault rifles, and camouflaged uniforms during protests, particularly in Ferguson. This escalation has sparked a debate on whether police forces are becoming too militarized and adopting a mentality more suited to war zones than community policing.

💡1033 Program

The 1033 Program is a U.S. Department of Defense initiative that allows the transfer of surplus military equipment to local law enforcement agencies. In the video, this program is highlighted as a key factor in the increasing militarization of police, providing them with tanks, assault rifles, and other military-grade equipment initially meant for battlefields but now used in American neighborhoods.

💡Ferguson Protests

The Ferguson protests refer to the civil unrest that erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in 2014. The video covers how these protests escalated due to heavy-handed police tactics, including the use of military-style equipment. Ferguson became a symbol of the national debate on police brutality, systemic racism, and the militarization of law enforcement.

💡War on Drugs

The War on Drugs is a U.S. government campaign aimed at reducing illegal drug trade and use, which began in earnest during the Reagan administration. The video connects this campaign to the militarization of police, showing how federal funding and policies encouraged the use of military tactics and equipment in drug enforcement, leading to an increasingly aggressive approach to policing in general.

💡SWAT Teams

SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams are specialized police units equipped to handle high-risk situations such as hostage rescues and counter-terrorism operations. The video illustrates how SWAT teams, once reserved for extreme scenarios, are now commonly deployed in less critical situations, contributing to the normalization of military-style policing tactics in everyday law enforcement.

💡De-escalation

De-escalation refers to techniques used by law enforcement to reduce the intensity of a potentially violent situation without the use of force. The video criticizes modern police training for emphasizing the use of military equipment and tactics rather than de-escalation strategies, which could lead to less violent outcomes in confrontations with civilians.

💡Immigration Crisis

The immigration crisis depicted in the video focuses on the surge of migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, crossing the U.S. southern border, largely from Central American countries like El Salvador. The video highlights the dangers these migrants face, including riding on top of trains and being preyed upon by cartels, while also discussing the underlying causes such as gang violence and economic hardship in their home countries.

💡The Beast

The Beast refers to a network of freight trains that migrants use to travel across Mexico towards the U.S. border. In the video, this perilous journey is shown as part of the immigration crisis, with migrants risking their lives by riding on top of these trains to escape violence and poverty in their home countries, only to face further dangers from cartels and law enforcement.

💡Gang Violence

Gang violence is a major factor driving migration from Central American countries like El Salvador, as depicted in the video. The threat of gangs, such as MS-13, forces families to flee their homes, seeking asylum in the U.S. The video explores how gang violence, rooted in poverty and exacerbated by deportations from the U.S., has created a cycle of violence that fuels migration.

💡Deportation

Deportation is the forced removal of individuals from a country, typically after violating immigration laws. The video explains how the deportation of gang members from the U.S. to countries like El Salvador has inadvertently strengthened gang networks in those countries, contributing to the violence that drives people to flee to the U.S. in search of safety.

Highlights

The militarization of police in America has gone too far, leading to excessive force and the use of military-grade weapons and vehicles in everyday policing.

The shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 sparked nationwide protests and ignited a debate on police militarization.

Police in Ferguson responded to protests with armored vehicles, camouflage uniforms, and military-style assault rifles, escalating tensions with the crowd.

The 1033 program, initiated in 1990, facilitated the transfer of military surplus equipment to local police departments, including armored personnel carriers, helicopters, and grenade launchers.

The War on Drugs in the 1980s and post-9/11 security policies contributed to the militarization of police forces, with $35 billion allocated to law enforcement for counter-terrorism equipment.

Police officers are being trained to use military-grade equipment, but not in de-escalation or conflict resolution, increasing the likelihood of forceful interventions.

Events like police tactical expos feature companies selling armored vehicles, weapons, and tactical gear, highlighting the commercial market for police militarization.

In El Salvador, gang violence is so severe that it drives mass migration, with families fleeing extreme danger and extortion demands from gangs.

The journey of migrants riding on top of dangerous trains, known as 'The Beast,' is fraught with peril, including robberies, assaults, and kidnappings by cartels.

Many of the gangs terrorizing Central America, including MS-13, originated in the U.S. prison system and were deported back to countries like El Salvador, exacerbating violence.

The Mexican government's increased immigration enforcement has forced migrants to take more dangerous routes, leading to higher risks of capture, death, or injury.

Despite extreme hardships, migrants from Central America continue their perilous journeys, motivated by the hope of escaping violence and finding safety in the U.S.

Sandra, a mother from El Salvador, fled with her children due to gang threats and violence in her hometown, highlighting the desperation driving many migrants.

Public opinion in the U.S. is shifting, with increased recognition that aggressive policing disproportionately affects African Americans, particularly in drug-related arrests and police shootings.

Sandra and her family, after a dangerous journey, made it to the U.S. but now face an uncertain future as their fate lies in the hands of the immigration court system.

Transcripts

this week on Vice the militarization of

police in

[Applause]

America we get tougher on crime by

getting bigger and bigger vehicles and

bigger and bigger weapons we've just

gone too

far and then the new immigration crisis

on our border

this train is

flying

[Applause]

there's three armored bands full of

dudes who look like Starship Troopers

there are six or seven immigration

police cars that went that way

[Music]

in the summer of 2014 the Fatal police

shooting of unarmed teenager Michael

Brown ignited a series of protests and

riots in Ferguson Missouri now the

incident in Ferguson didn't stay

isolated for long it sparked protests

across the country with polarizing

reactions and a resultant media frenzy

this is a a good example of what can

happen uh if there's too much armor and

not enough working together obviously

there is some fragment of the community

that is disrespectful of the law is

disrespectful of the police and the

police know it because they're the ones

who have to deal with these folks you're

a cop and they're throwing a motov

cocktail at you and you're hearing

gunshots go off what are you going to do

in an effort to see what started this

cultural debate we sent Thomas Morton to

Ferguson to see just how the situation

unfolded on the ground

[Music]

you must disperse

immediately you are in violation of the

state imposed curfew failure to comply

peacefully or result arrest in or other

actions do not walk Southbound on West

Flor walk

northb hi it's Thomas we're in Ferguson

Missouri that tank looking vehicle with

the soldier looking guys out there is

actually police equipment there's three

armored Vans full of dudes who look like

Starship Troopers all the dudes in

camouflage with assault rifles are

police officers with the police aren't

just kind of like yelling at people and

like trying to Flashlight and stuff but

are like actively muzzling their rifles

if you are in the street you are

unlawfully assembled please continue

moving North if you do

not police action is completely riled up

this

crowd what the am I getting locked

up for all members of the media please

separate yourselves from the protesters

immediately some of you are throwing

objects at

us something just happened and they're

freaking

out whoa oh they're firing off tear

gas

canisters oh they're coming this

way oh that's gas okay

like no warning for that

that's insane they fired in every

direction

they shot me in the stomach they shot me

in my stomach shot shot her

right here they on car look at this

it's War out here they drew the Line in

the Sand what did they you with ask them

they the ones with the

guns the battle between police and

protesters in Ferguson is just the

latest in a long long string of

terrifying incidents involving extremely

aggressive policing tactics and

equipment that looks like it was shipped

over from Iraq

got

shot Bradley Balo has spent the last

decade documenting this increasing

militarization of American police forces

and all the abuses and rights violations

that come with it his book rise of the

warrior cop lays out how small town

American cops ended up with tanks and

assault rifles when did tanks become a

facet of American policing it really

wasn't until the early to mid 80s that

we saw the sort of mass transfer of

military equipment from the Pentagon to

local police department as a matter of

policy the Reagan Administration really

wanted to take the War on Drugs metaphor

and make it very literal drugs are

menacing our society and by next year

our spending for Drug law enforcement

will have more than tripled Reagan are

just informally instructed the Pentagon

to start making Surplus Gear available

Reagan instituted these federal grants

that were tied solely to drug policing

Reagan's drug war block grants be the

1033 program started in 1990 under Bush

which gave Surplus Army to the domestic

police departments for use against drugs

provided they used the equipment at

least once within a year which all but

assured that they did and this is where

we start to see the armed personnel

carriers the tanks the helicopters the

you know grenade launchers this really

heavy duty gear that was explicitly

designed for use on a battlefield being

transferred to police departments for

use on American streets and American

neighborhoods and against American

citizens the 1033 program was so popular

with police departments by 1996 the DOD

had given out $330 Million worth of old

military

gear now thanks to surpluses created by

our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq cops in

America have 1033 to5 billion worth of

used army gear and on top of that since

911 the Department of Homeland Security

has given cops an extra $35 billion so

they can buy new gear to fight

terrorists with you have the militarized

mentality a lot of police forarms have

switched to the these battle dress

uniforms you get the rhetoric it's the

constant sort of intonation that you're

fighting a war and these are two very

fundamentally different jobs

unfortunately I think a lot of

politicians think because they both

involve carrying guns and using force uh

that the skill sets are interchangeable

the ever growing demand for new military

style equipment has led to a cottage

industry private companies who

specialize in making armored vehicles

and body armor and the like specifically

for law enforcement and the Department

of Homeland Security doesn't just give

Police Department's money to buy new

stuff from these private suppliers it

actually helps pay for events at which

the gear is sold one of the big

questions raised by uh what's happening

in Ferguson is uh where do police

departments get all this kind of

equipment like giant armored Batman Vans

like these and one of the answers is

here we're in a convention hall space

buillt with vendors booths it's all

people Hawking tactical gear to various

police departments from around the

country you guys mostly do business with

u military or is I mean this is a law

enforcement thing um yeah I mean

commercial law enforcement and then the

safety is uh right here so you're going

to flip that forward and just go ahead

and this get any attention with the

police here we have seen cops interested

in them for Less lethal scenarios how do

you make this less lethal but I guess

with rubber or with a pepper fil caspan

round got

it is this a raffle yes this is the

price $20 win AR15 good luck thank

you once they're done shopping the SWAT

team sued up and respond to two days

worth of simulated emergency scenarios

scattered around the Bay Area many

incorporating training supplies provided

by the previous day vendors there's 35

scenarios actually and there's like

hostage rescue Marine hostage rescue

that sounds fun land nav hostage rescue

rural terrorist Camp bomb making

terrorist terrorist takeover ACE train

everything seems to be centered around

terrorists I volunteered to play a dead

body in a hallway

I've already been shot so my role is

just to lie

[Applause]

down sir are you okay he's

dead I don't know how effective this is

in terms of tactical training or even

just the use the money that's being

spent on it but definitely fun we have

received intelligence that there are

about 15 followers in the compound armed

with long guns which include a couple of

automatic weapons the cult leader

realizes that they got an armored

vehicle going to start he goes okay

let's pull the trigger sends out the RPG

and then they start executing people oh

my God it's really a mass suicide but in

fact it's really a murder suicide none

of the scenarios we saw left much room

for nonviolent

Solutions police aren't getting trained

in deescalation and conflict resolution

most their training involves how to use

this new weapon and then lots of

practice on using that

weapon and then back in here the cult

leader is basically systematically

executing babies your head your head

your left open

door I'm trying to think of the last

time there was hostages on a bus in

America all I can think of right now is

speed when the amount of hours you spend

at the shooting range outnumber the

number of hours you spend learning

conflict resolution and by you know 10

or 15 to one you're going to be more

likely to use the tool that you've

trained more

with so that's basically how you train

people to use equipment like this for

police work but none of this has really

addressed the larger question of should

we train police to use equipment like

this for their police work is this the

best option A like twostory tall GI Jo

tank while SWAT teams in their tanks are

supposed to be used for extreme

dangerous situations like hostage crises

they now end up getting used for

virtually everything

out from crowd control to lowl drug

[Music]

raids

myg

fuckingg with you with you with you up

up up up

speaking as a former cop I think we've

gone too far Norm Stamper was the chief

of the Seattle Police Department during

the WTO protest in 1999 he's the guy who

put cops and Stormtrooper Uniforms on

American streets in front of the eyes of

the global media well I screwed it up

royally we were totally overwhelmed by

numbers but then we did something really

really foolish we teargas

non-threatening nonviolent demonstrators

who simply wouldn't obey our order when

we dress police officers like soldiers

they're likely to act like soldiers

soldiers follow orders for a living

police officers make decisions for a

living when that kind of mentality that

kind of tire and weaponry and equipment

is trotted out in virtually Everyday Use

we got a

problem we have americ American police

departments acting like an occupational

Force public outrage over the soldier

isation of the American policemen has

led to a seemingly unbreakable cycle in

which people protest heavy-handed

policing tactics and the police react by

using those exact same heavy-handed

tactics it's now escalated to the point

where not only do the cops resemble an

occupying Army civilians have gone past

protest and begun threatening and

attacking individual officers like

insurgents under an occupation the two

cops were in their car when possibly two

suspects came up and shot them where

speaking out against cops has

traditionally been a no man's land in

American politics the situation in

Ferguson and around the country has

forced legislators to take notice no one

in Congress however has been as

outspoken as upstart Kentucky Republican

Rand Paul so with public outrage

mounting do you think we're reaching a

point where the like just the basic

citizenry are being made an enemy the

hard part about it and I worry about it

from my perspective is as much as I have

outrage I don't want people to think

gosh I think police are bad people

police are my neighbors they keep me

safe and even sometimes when they do bad

things I tend to not want to blame them

as much as I blame the system we've had

this sort of idea that we're going to

you know wipe out drugs by being tough

on crime and we get tougher on crime by

getting bigger and bigger vehicles and

bigger and bigger weapons and more and

more intrusive

searches there is a disproportionate

effect on the African-American community

people wonder why are people so mad the

surveys say white people are using drugs

at the same rate as black people I think

you have four times greater chance to be

arrested if you're black for drugs of

being shot by the police it's 28 times

greater I think the one General thing

that should happen is any of the federal

laws that are I think over criminalizing

the country basically whether it's drugs

or

cigarettes do we really want to use

lethal Forest to stop someone from

selling cigarettes do we really want to

use lethal Force to burst into houses to

see if there are any drugs

present I think the public at large is

changing their opinions on this so I

don't care whether you're talking to the

NAACP or you're talking to a white

Evangelical Church I think people are

starting to feel you know what we've

gone the wrong direction we've just gone

too far

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

[Applause]

America is facing an immigration crisis

on its Southern border we've seen a

surge of unaccompanied children arrive

at the

border the journey is unbelievably

dangerous for these kids now most of

these unaccompanied children come from

Central America traveling on a network

of trains known simply as the Beast not

only were 68,000 children apprehended in

the last 12 months alone there were

nearly 70,000 families detained that's

an almost 400% increase from last year

wanting to understand better what's

behind this tremendous surge of

immigrants especially young children we

sent suou Alvi to investigate this new

wave of

[Applause]

[Music]

migration sandre and her three children

have come here from El Salvador to start

their Journey on top of the train known

as the Beast and we

fail over 16 ft tall and traveling at

speeds of up to 30

mph over a half million men women and

children ride on top of these trains

each year

it's been raining all day the sky is

just cleared up and uh soundrunner

family are on the train and they're

going to ride it all night here we

go here they

go this train is flying this thing must

be going about 30 m an

hour so just now they were all yelling

Rama Rama which means branch so we know

to get our heads down so we don't lose

our

heads

[Music]

Ruben Figaroa is a human rights

activist who has spent nine years

helping migrants make this trip safely

ow ah oh ow

[Music]

people have been traveling on the

Beast since the '90s and it used to be a

relatively peaceful Journey still

dangerous because you could fall get

mutilated or being exposed to the

elements but now there are new kinds of

dangers the cartels kidnap people they

rob they kill the statistic about the

number of women getting raped is

incredibly high and shocking it's

upwards of 60% they

say it's a daunting

[Music]

Journey have you seen a lot of young

kids on the trains see

[Music]

when you look at how difficult this

journey is it's natural to wonder why

anyone would expose their families

especially young children to these

conditions it was a question I asked

Sandra while we were waiting for the

train why did you leave your home in El

Salvador

this has become a common threat in El

Salvador which now has the highest

concentration of gang members of any

country in Central

America with the fourth highest murder

rate in the world this small country now

sees 10 murders a day and has the people

of Santa Ana Sandra's Hometown living in

constant fear we are in Santa Ana which

is about an hour outside of San Salvador

like so many other parts of the country

this town is overrun by The Gangs

they're fighting buying for control and

Terror in the community we spoke to a

local store owner about why so many

families are willing to do whatever it

takes to

[Music]

leave it was only after that their

extortion demands began

are people living in

fear are there a lot of people who want

to

leave with the violence so bad the local

reports claim nearly half the country's

population now wants to

leave the authorities are waging an

allout war on these

gangs we're at the Central police

station in San Salvador with the

anti-gang unit we're about to go on a

raid with them they're going after eight

members of the 18 Street gang who they

believe killed two innocent

[Music]

people we're with a large group that's

going to break and to 10 different

groups that's going to hit 13 different

Homes at the same time

[Music]

[Music]

these are just four of an estimated

20,000 gang members in El

Salvador and as we were told by police

commissioner Pedro Gonzalez the director

of the anti- gang unit this is a fight

that never

ends and how did this situation get so

bad that it necessitated creating an

anti-gang unit

it turns out the biggest gangs in El

Salvador actually started in the United

States both the MS-13 and 18 street

gangs were formed by refugees of El

Salvador Civil War in the

1980s when they came to America they

formed these organizations to protect

themselves from the brutal street gangs

of

La The Gangs became so powerful that

after they were arrested they actually

became stronger in the US prison system

leading to a new policy and dealing with

them we have discovered that these gang

members are also illegal

aliens since many of the gang members

were undocumented deporting them seemed

like the most natural

solution we're always trying to create

criminal charges as part of our gang

enforcement program when all else fails

we're going to use the imig migration

laws to get these violent gang members

out of the community and back to their

home

countries but El Salvador was simply no

match for the nearly 60,000 criminals

that were sent back

there now an unintended cycle has been

created where the violent gangs that

were exported from the US are causing

the massive flood of migrants on

Southern

border migrants like sandre who sell

everything they own to take the 1400

mile 2-month long journey through Mexico

a trip which starts here at the

Guatemalan

[Music]

border so that bridge over there is the

legal Crossing between Guatemala and

Mexico but every day hundreds of

migrants from Honduras El Salvador

Guatemala do the illegal Crossing on

these boats

as a result of pressure from the United

States government Mexican immigration is

now following our own border patrol

strategy of using checkpoints which

force migrants to travel on foot through

difficult

[Music]

terrain feels like 110° out here feels

like the

desert in this hostile environment they

have no choice but to take shelter

wherever they can sleeping in derel

buildings or even out in the

open despite all that they still make it

onto the

trains but the immigration police

continue to increase their

[Music]

[Applause]

pressure so the immigration police have

shown up just before this train was

supposed to leave and now everybody's

breaking the H out jumping off the

[Music]

train there are six or seven immigration

police cars that went that way and so

everybody's just looking underneath to

see where they are they feel like

they're getting surrounded so they can

round them up

into while we lost SRE and her family in

one of these raids this is just one of

many tactics which have resulted in

Mexico deporting more than 990,000

migrants this

[Music]

year nevertheless hundreds of thousands

continue to find their way North at

saltio we watched as migrants completed

their Journey on the Beast this is the

point where their Journey ends and our

immigration debate

[Music]

begins we are in NOA Laro Mexico right

there is Laredo Texas and this is the

Rio Grand River and no matter what the

governments do whether it's tightening

the Border in America or the Mexican

Government raiding the trains in Ariaga

as we saw everyone we spoke to said the

same thing that the governments can try

what they want but the migrants will

adjust and continue to find a way and

that migration is not going to go

anywhere as long as there's violence in

those countries people are going to

flee and while the border patrol

apprehended nearly a half million

undocumented migrants on the Mexican

border this year we received word that

Against All Odds Sandra made her way

into Texas where her family was

apprehended but eventually released to

the custody of relatives in Los Angeles

when we met you you told us about Jose's

story and and the threats that he was

having at school by The Gangs how do you

feel now do you feel safer

[Music]

while they are safe from The Gangs for

now the fate of Sandra and her children

will ultimately be decided by a judge in

Immigration Court in the meantime she

cannot work and is forced to wear an

ankle monitor 24 hours a day was it all

worth it

see for

[Music]

[Music]

e e