Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

They were gonna shoot me. I was minding my own business.

What were you doing in the bar, Hector?

Trying to get drunk. I was locked up for three days.

I wasn't looking for trouble, I swear.

What did they want?

They must've been following me.

I was having a few beers and they put a gun to my head

and demanded to know who killed Kanann and Shala.

I said it wasn't me. I didn't hurt them.

You let it happen.

You let those girls get raped.

You let Shala and Kanann die.

- They had... - You did that.

- They had a gun on me. - And until you tell us

who else is involved, this is not going away.

Hector's lawyer is here.

What the hell do you think you're doing?

You can't talk to my client.

- He's a victim in a crime. - Yes, a victim

who's also facing a double murder charge.

He was just telling me what happened in the bar.

- Nothing more. - He's done talking.

Okay. That's your choice.

- And a stupid one, at that. - Excuse me?

It's obvious he wants to cooperate.

Hector has a rock solid alibi that his wife will corroborate.

- You've got the wrong guy, here. - So the witness who picked him

- out of a lineup... - Is now in a refugee camp,

- somewhere in Turkey. - And that doesn't mean

that his ID isn't valid.

I have a client to defend, and as of right now,

the state doesn't have enough evidence to convict.

So if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take Hector to the hospital.

Unless, of course, you wanna arrest him for being held hostage.

Chief.

What are we looking at? One dead?

- One of the hostage takers. - What do we know about 'em?

The deceased is Aakif Ahmadi.

He's 28, he's a local business owner.

And the other is Daleel Hamdan. He's 25.

He's a student at CUNY Tech. Neither one had a record.

Neither has ties to terrorist activity.

As far as we can tell, it was personal.

Daleel said they were fed up with the slurs and hatred.

They just wanted to get justice for the Samras.

They held Hector at gunpoint and they demanded

that he reveal his co-conspirators.

- Did he? - No.

His lawyer has him convinced he's innocent.

So, look, the wife is backing up his alibi.

So we need to talk to her and see if we can crack her story.

Do it fast. This needs to end...

before somebody else gets killed.

_

It's your fault. You arrested Hector.

Made people think he had something to do

with that horrible crime at the restaurant.

That's why they wanted to hurt him.

That's why everyone hates us.

No, they hate Hector because he was there.

He was in the restaurant the night of the attack.

Says you.

Says the evidence.

You don't know what it's like. I can't leave the apartment.

I can't take the kids outside.

So work with us, Soledad. You and Hector.

We can keep you safe. We can keep your kids safe.

Hector didn't do what you say he did.

- He was home with me. - This is not

what's best for your children.

You threatening to call social services again?

Soledad, all right, if you get on the stand,

and you lie for your husband, that's perjury.

- That's a crime. - Which means

you could be in trouble.

Which means there's no one here to look after your kids.

Stop talking about my kids.

There's no other way around it.

You are in a serious situation here.

Get out. Get out.

Please get out.

Ignorance, not immigrants!

NYPD needs to protect all citizens.

How many more innocent Muslims have to die

before NYPD does its job?

We knew the man who got shot, Aakif.

I'm so sorry.

Why did this have to happen?

It got out of control.

And he did have a gun.

Maybe he should have killed Hector.

Then we wouldn't know who the other two men are.

We need to put pressure on Hector to cooperate.

And that means that we need proof.

We need evidence.

So is there any detail? Is there anything that you can think of?

Anything you can remember that puts Hector

at the restaurant that night?

I didn't know it was him.

I didn't recognize his voice.

Anything?

One of them, when they first came in,

he had turned off the security camera

at the front door.

But he went to it straight away, like he knew it was there.

So it could've been Hector.

Yes. Maybe it was him.

That's... that's helpful.

That's very helpful.

We did find Hector Ramirez's prints on the security camera.

Useless. He worked in the restaurant.

Yeah, but he was let go three weeks before the attack.

Yeah, and he was a bus boy. He cleared tables.

He wasn't in charge of security.

Yes, yes, yes. It's weak evidence.

Okay, we know. We all understand. Let's... let's calm down.

What about the wife?

- She's illegal, right? - Yeah.

Let's call ICE.

Excuse me?

Hold on. Are we gonna help ICE now

deport a woman with two little kids?

I don't know, but we're certainly gonna threaten it.

You do remember that New York is a sanctuary city?

- You remember that, right? - She's lying to protect

a suspect involved in a horrific crime.

Two people were raped, two people were killed.

The mother and wife was forced to watch, to listen.

So call me crazy, Detective.

But in the case of a tie, my sympathy

is with Maya and Lela, not with the wife of the perp.

- Lieutenant. - You're right, Carisi.

That is NYPD's policy.

Absolutely, we all agree on that.

But this is different.

I'm not a shill for the Feds and I certainly

don't give a damn about immigration status.

But right now, what's happening in this city right now,

we need to play every card in the deck.

So bring in Soledad and her kids, too.

- Tonight? - It's late,

- her kids are asleep. - Now.

My children are U.S. citizens.

I have their birth certificates to prove it.

And I realize that. They're safe.

But you're undocumented, Soledad.

If we call ICE, game's over.

I work, I pay taxes, I've never broken the law.

You're breaking the law right now by lying

- to protect your husband. - He didn't kill anybody.

He didn't rape anybody.

You don't have any evidence on him.

Is that what his lawyer told you?

- It's the truth. - Soledad...

those two beautiful girls are worth protecting.

They're young, they're innocent,

they have their whole lives ahead of them.

But your husband is a different story.

You cannot protect him.

Now, I'm gonna give you one more chance

to tell me the truth.

Or else I'm gonna have to do something that...

That I've never done before.

And that's to call ICE.

They're gonna send you back to El Salvador.

And your daughters will go to social services.

Listen to me.

I don't wanna do this.

Please give me another option.

Okay.

This is Lieutenant Benson from SVU. I'm calling for Special Agent Phelps.

Yes, I'll hold.

- Phelps. - Phelps, this is

Lieutenant Benson from SVU.

I had an undocumented female from El Salvador

who's refusing to cooperate in a rape/homicide case.

I'll send an agent right over.

Wait, stop!

Can you hold on a second?

I'll tell you the truth.

Hector wasn't home. Not until late.

What time?

He woke me up at 2:00 a.m.

He had blood on his shoes.

Please, just let me see my kids.

I'll tell you everything.

- Yeah. - She can see her kids.

Go ahead.

Agent Phelps?

Yes, the situation has resolved itself.

Thank you. I owe you one.

Were you really gonna go through with it?

Have ICE come snatch her up?

She just boxed Hector into a corner.

So he has no choice than to take a deal.

Go pick him up.

Your wife blew up your alibi.

She said you came home around 2:00 a.m.

and you had blood on your shoes.

That incriminates you, Hector. That puts you at the scene.