Overview: 'Frontline: The Gang Crackdown' investigates a slew of killings linked to the MS-13 gang, and the crackdown that swept up immigrant teens. Some 25 bodies have surfaced since 2016. Law enforcement is trying to stop the gang, but some immigrant teens have been unlawfully detained in the process.

DVD Verdict: 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?

For a better perspective toward this harrowing documentary, MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha; also known as simply MS or Mara) is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, US in the 1980s.

The gang later spread to many parts of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America, and is active in urban and suburban areas. Most members are of Central American origin, principally El Salvador.

In the U.S., MS-13 has an especially heavy presence in California, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, New York City and New Jersey, Boston, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Houston. There is also a presence of MS-13 in Toronto, Canada.

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. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.

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