History Main / TheIllegal

* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueGodsAndMonsters'', one of the many changes to the world compared to the standard DCAU is that Superman's pod wasn't found by the white, middle-American Kents, it was found by undocumented Mexican workers while they were dodging ICE. This has the effect of giving Superman a much harsher and more cynical view of the US government, and also making him an illegal [[StealthPun alien]].

* ''{{Film/Margarita}}'': The protagonist is a Mexican who's lived in Canada for eight years and does not have permission to. After the police learn this when she's in an accident, she gets ordered to leave.

* The first ComicBook/{{Sword}} series involves Henry Peter Gyrich (Marvel's go-to for "Jackass Bureaucrat") taking control of the eponymous organization. He promptly declares that ''every alien on Earth'', whether they previously had clearance or not, is now an illegal. He begins taking measures to have every last one deported. Even the ones who come from empires or planets that no longer ''exist''.

-->-- '''Music/{{Genesis}}''', "Illegal Alien"

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

A character who has entered the country illegally. They are usually female, speak with a [[{{Lzherusskie}} Central or Eastern European accent]] (sometimes their home country won't be specified) and are being exploited by the evil people traffickers who brought them over. They will probably end up in a brothel or strip club.

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

* ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod's'' main plot point is how Haik the Filipino-Australian is revealed to be an illegal immigrant in both Australia and the US. The Fil-American Mirasol took him to the hospital after she found him washed up on the California beach, and ICE officers showed up at her house a while later to arrest him and ship him back to the Philippines. An additional layer is that Haik is the title's Filipino ''god,'' who's roaming around nearly-forgotten [[DeathOfTheOldGods since Spain colonized the islands.]] It's also pointed out that Mirasol may get jailed or sent to the Philippines despite being ''an actual American citizen,'' as [[LawfulStupid punishment for "helping a criminal.

* ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod's'' main plot point is how Haik the Filipino-Australian is revealed to be an illegal immigrant in both Australia and the US. The Fil-American Mirasol took him to the hospital after she found him washed up on the California beach, and ICE officers showed up at her house a while later to arrest him and ship him back to the Philippines. An additional layer is that Haik is the title's Filipino ''god,'' who's roaming around nearly-forgotten [[DeathOfTheOldGods since Spain colonized the islands.]] It's also pointed out that Mirasol may get jailed or sent to the Philippines despite being ''an actual American citizen,'' as [[LawfulStupid punishment for "helping a criminal."]]

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

* From ''Series/{911LoneStar}}'', Probationary firefighter Mateo Chavez. Though he came to the US illegally, he currently has legal status due to being brought as a toddler by his parents, and working as a firefighter would easily enable him to gain permanent residency... except he's very close to aging out of DACA protections, so if he gets cut from the Austin Fire Department, he gets deported to a country he doesn't remember.

* ''Film/JourneyOfHope'' is a dark tale of a Turkish family trying to sneak illegally into Switzerland to get work. They're ruthlessly exploited and cheated until the climax where they're abandoned by the human traffickers at the top of the Swiss Alps.
* The movie ''Film/MenInBlack'' starts with the TheMenInBlack intercepting a bunch of Mexicans trying to cross the border into the United States. Preventing aliens from entering the country illegally, however, turns out to be not their primary concern... unless the illegal aliens are from outer space.
* The villain in ''Film/{{Coneheads}}'' is an INS agent determined to expose the Coneheads as not only space aliens, but ''illegal'' aliens, and have them deported.
* In ''Film/{{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.

* Creator/SethRogen's character in ''Film/KnockedUp'' is the PlayedForLaughs Canadian subtype.
* The ''Film/{{Machete}}'' films has this as an underlying theme, 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 mustache 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.
* ''Film/StVincent2014'':
** The inept moving crew in the beginning of the film may or may not be this; Vincent's accusations imply he believes they might be.
** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the case of the supervisor Oliver's dad hires. Vincent threatens to call Immigration on her, but she informs him that she is a citizen.
* Three of the five members of the main cast of ''Film/TwentyTwo'' are illegal immigrants, which is why the characters are reluctant to go to the police even as they are being killed off one by one.

* The current ComicBook/{{Sword}} series involves Henry Peter Gyrich (Marvel's go-to for "Jackass Bureaucrat") taking control of the eponymous organization. He promptly declares that ''every alien on Earth'', whether they previously had clearance or not, is now an illegal. He begins taking measures to have every last one deported. Even the ones who come from empires or planets that no longer ''exist''.

* Klara Prast of the ComicBook/{{Runaways}} may be an illegal alien. According to promotional materials released around the time of the team's guest appearance in ''ComicBook/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.)

* The current S.W.O.R.D. series involves Henry Peter Gyrich (Marvel's go-to for "Jackass Bureaucrat") taking control of the eponymous organization. He promptly declares that ''every alien on Earth'', whether they previously had clearance or not, is now an illegal. He begins taking measures to have every last one deported. Even the ones who come from empires or planets that no longer ''exist''.

* The current S.W.O.R.D. series involves Henry Peter Gyrich (Marvel's go-to for "Jackass Bureaucrat") taking control of the eponymous organization, then promptly declaring that ''every alien on Earth'', whether they previously had clearance or not, is now an illegal, and begins taking measures to have every last one deported. Even the ones who come from empires or planets that no longer ''exist''.

A recent variation happens because illegal immigration is a political issue in the United States. Typically the illegal alien is Mexican, hardworking, speaks perfect English, can be of either sex, and is exploited only in minor ways which elicit sympathy for him without implying he'd have been better off staying home. In fact, they're usually treated sympathetically, and some {{aesop}} may be delivered on how US immigration laws should change.

A common trope on U.S. police shows, as well. The nationality of the person being exploited varies. Exploited sweatshop workers or other blue-collar laborers 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.

* ''Manga/DailyLifeWithMonsterGirl'' has Suu the SlimeGirl, who's not just an illegal immigrant but a member of a previously unknown species. However, the local representative of the government agency managing interspecies affairs declares new species and illegal immigrations "Not [her] problem" since she already has [[BeleagueredBureaucrat too many other duties]].

[[folder: Literature]]
* Edilio from ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' is implied to be this, which is confirmed in ''Plague''. This results in a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome 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.]]
* ''Literature/TheCrocodileGod's'' main plot point is how Haik the Filipino-Australian is revealed to be an illegal immigrant in both Australia and the US. The Fil-American Mirasol took him to the hospital after she found him washed up on the California beach, and ICE officers showed up at her house a while later to arrest him and ship him back to the Philippines. An additional layer is that Haik is the title's Filipino ''god,'' who's roaming around nearly-forgotten [[DeathOfTheOldGods since Spain colonized the islands.]] It's also pointed out that Mirasol may get jailed or sent to the Philippines despite being ''an actual American citizen,'' as [[LawfulStupid punishment for "helping a criminal."]]

[[/folder]]