History Main / TheIllegal

* In the 2008 "American Dream" miniseries from MarvelComics, American Dream meets an illegal alien of this type.

* The ''Film/{{Machete}}'' films has this as an underlying them, following the trend of exploitation films to be used to preach political aesops. The trope is spoofed in ''Film/MacheteKills'' when MasterOfDisguise El Camaleón (disguised as a Mexican) is about to be shot by rednecks who mistake him for an illegal immigrant. He removes his fake moustache and talks in his normal voice to show he's not Mexican, only for the rednecks to assume he's Canadian and shoot him anyway.

* SethRogen's character in ''Film/KnockedUp'' is the PlayedForLaughs Canadian subtype.

** Of course the comparison also extended to the fear of being discovered, which is something Clark could relate to and then some. After all the laws regarding citizenship apply to humans or at the very least to individuals born on Earth. As do the laws prohibiting [[ExactWords human rights abuse]]. So quarantining and experimenting on a Kryptonian, for example, wouldn't be illegal.

* The political satire group Capital Steps wrote a song entitled "Welcome to the State of Arizona" (Sung to the tune of "Hotel California") centering around a man in a large coat being confronted by a police officer at the border. Then the man casts off his coat to reveal that he's a Navajo, and proudly states that ''his'' people had been fighting against illegal immigration since 1492.

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->''"So don't tell anybody, what I'm gonna do\\

->''"So don't tell anybody, what I'm gonna do''
->''If they find out, you know that they'll never let me through..."''
-->-- '''{{Music/Genesis}}''', "Illegal Alien"

* In the [[ComicBook/{{X-Men}} Uncanny X-Men]], a group of (ex-mutant) women are imported from Russia as prostitutes.

* Klara Prast of the {{Runaways}} may be an illegal alien. According to promotional materials released around the time of the team's guest appearance in ''AvengersAcademy'', there's no record of her having entered the United States. Her backstory also fits with that of many illegals - she was forced to work in an unsafe factory and [[MaritalRapeLicense sexually exploited by her much older husband]] (for reference, she was about ''eleven years old'' at the time.)

* ''SayonaraZetsubouSensei'' has an unusual Japanese version: Maria, an illegal alien, probably from [[AmbiguouslyBrown Brazil or the Middle East somewhere]]. Interestingly, she defies stereotypes by using the identity of a male student but does not crossdress.
** She's also much younger than the person whose identity she bought, which along with the lack of education in her own country makes her attendance in high school pretty much an exercise in futility.
* Ling Yao of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is an illegal immigrant from a place called Xing. He's sent to jail, but breaks out later.
** Though since he's a prince, he could probably be considered a diplomat or such, but he didn't have his papers (and [[YoungerThanTheyLook they wouldn't believe he was only 15]]) when he was arrested.

** Results in a CrowningMomentOfAwesome in ''Light'': [[spoiler: a police officer was about to deport Edilio and his family, but upon recognizing Edilio (now a hero due to his actions in the FAYZ), the officer instead calls four other cars full of cops to protect him.]]

* {{Calexico}}'s song "Across the Wire" is rather vaguely-worded, but can be interpreted as a song about two Mexican brothers sneaking into the US.

* The ''Film/{{Machete}}'' films has this as an underlying them, following the trend of exploitation films to be used to preach political aesops. The trope is spoofed in ''Film/MacheteKills'' when MasterOfDisguise La Chameleon (disguised as a Mexican) is about to be shot by rednecks who mistake him for an illegal immigrant. He removes his fake moustache and talks in his normal voice to show he's not Mexican, only for the rednecks to assume he's Canadian and shoot him anyway.

* Shown in ''{{Smallville}}'' where an illegal alien boy working in Kansas was one of the few people who found out Clark's secret. The episode also compared illegal aliens to Clark. Admittedly it's a little [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy-handed]] in the comparison.

* The protagonist/narrator of the {{Music/Genesis}} song "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Illegal Alien]]", which provides the page quote. N

** The other three characters from Xing (Fu, Lan Fan, and May Chang) are also there illegaly, but they never got arrested.

* The protagonist/narrator of the {{Music/Genesis}} song "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Illegal Alien]]", which provides the page quote. Notable for being banned from radio airplay in America due to UnfortunateImplications.

** Be fair. He only wants to deport them because they're illegals, which is his job. At the end of the movie, he's perfectly willing to help them emigrate legally.

A common trope on U.S. police shows, as well. The nationality of the person being exploited varies. Exploited sweatshop workers are Latino, Asians, or occasionally Eastern Europeans. If it's people trafficking for purposes of prostitution, it's almost always Asian women, from China, Thailand, other semi-industrial countries. An appropriate mob organization ([[TheMafiya Russians]], [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Tongs]], {{Yakuza}}, {{The Irish Mob}}, [[TheMafia Italians]])will be the string-pullers.

* ''{{The Wire}}'' has dead eastern European [[StuffedIntoTheFridge woman found in a cargo container]] as the impetus for that season's investigation.

* ''IMarriedDora'' was about a millionaire who [[CitizenshipMarriage married]] his illegal alien maid so she could get a green card.
* ''{{Taxi}}'': Latka turns out to be an illegal and [[CitizenshipMarriage marries a prostitute]] for a green card.
* One of ''{{Dexter}}'''s victims was importing illegal immigrants, then holding them prisoner to extort money from family members already in the country.
* Catalina from ''MyNameIsEarl''. She came to America [[GirlInABox in a box]] from a BananaRepublic called "Guadelatucky" [[spoiler: to escape from her mother, who was trying to kill her to get a kidney for her brother]].

A common trope on U.S. police shows, as well. The nationality of the person being exploited varies. Exploited sweatshop workers are Latino, Asians, or occasionally Eastern Europeans. If it's people trafficking for purposes of prostitution, it's almost always Asian women, from China, Thailand, other semi-industrial countries. An appropriate mob organization ([[TheMafiya Russians]], [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Tongs]], {{Yakuza}}) will be the string-pullers.

* In ''{{Bowfinger}}'', when Bobby Bowfinger needs a film crew, he just goes to California's border with Mexico and offers shelter to a few fugitive immigrants.

** The other three characters from Xing (Fu, Lan Fan, and May Chang) are also there illegal, but they never got arrested.

** Unusual in that Ling's situation is PlayedForLaughs, and yet avoids UnfortunateImplications.