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The Illegal

 The Illegal
type
FeatureClass
 The Illegal
label
The Illegal
 The Illegal
page
TheIllegal
 The Illegal
comment
A character who has entered the country illegally. They are usually female, speak with a Central or Eastern European accent (sometimes their home country won't be specified or it will be a vague Ruritania substitute) and are being exploited by the evil human traffickers who brought them over. They will probably end up in a brothel, strip club or factory sweatshop run by The Syndicate.
Increasingly common in UK crime drama. 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 human trafficking for purposes of forced prostitution, the case almost always Asian women, from China, Thailand, and other semi-industrial countries. An appropriate mob organization (Russians, Tongs, Yakuza, The Irish Mob, Italians) will be the string-pullers.
In any case, the person in question, due to fear of the gang and the terrible punishment doled out to non-compliant workers (beatings, torture, and mutilation), language barriers, and poverty, they will have little recourse. Cooperating with the cops can mean a death sentence.
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 would have been better off staying home. In fact, they are usually treated sympathetically. Some Aesop may be delivered on how US immigration laws should change.
Sometimes Played for Laughs in US media by having the illegal be Canadian or some other comparatively outlandish nation. This version never faces deportation or exploitation, but might face resentment from (legal) Latino or Asian immigrants.

Examples
 The Illegal
fetched
2024-03-25T12:30:38Z
 The Illegal
parsed
2024-03-25T12:30:39Z
 The Illegal
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Dropped link to BackAlleyDoctor: Not an Item - FEATURE
 The Illegal
processingComment
Dropped link to Calexico: Not an Item - IGNORE
 The Illegal
processingComment
Dropped link to InhumanableAlienRights: Not an Item - FEATURE
 The Illegal
processingComment
Dropped link to SubvertedTrope: Not an Item - CAT
 The Illegal
processingComment
Dropped link to WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Not an Item - FEATURE
 The Illegal
processingComment
Dropped link to YoungerThanTheyLook: Not an Item - FEATURE
 The Illegal
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Illegal / int_1360882c
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_1360882c
comment
Edilio from Gone is implied to be this, which is confirmed in Plague. This results in a Moment of Awesome in Light: 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.
 The Illegal / int_1360882c
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 The Illegal / int_1360882c
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 Gone
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The Illegal / int_1360882c
 The Illegal / int_14a0ad11
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_14a0ad11
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Gang Related: Ryan Lopez originally entered the US illegally with his family.
 The Illegal / int_14a0ad11
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1.0
 The Illegal / int_14a0ad11
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 Gang Related
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_14a0ad11
 The Illegal / int_1bdeba5a
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_1bdeba5a
comment
In the Uncanny X-Men, a group of (ex-mutant) women are imported from Russia as prostitutes.
 The Illegal / int_1bdeba5a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_1bdeba5a
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 X-Men (Comic Book)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_1bdeba5a
 The Illegal / int_1e6bcb94
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_1e6bcb94
comment
Human Cargo (1936): The smugglers who serve as the film's antagonists bring illegal migrants into the states and extort money out of them by threatening to expose them.
 The Illegal / int_1e6bcb94
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_1e6bcb94
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1.0
 Human Cargo (1936)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_1e6bcb94
 The Illegal / int_2212773a
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_2212773a
comment
Angel has a bunch of women exported from another dimension.
 The Illegal / int_2212773a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_2212773a
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 Angel
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The Illegal / int_2212773a
 The Illegal / int_227431b6
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_227431b6
comment
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 Avengers Academy, there is 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 sexually exploited by her much older husband. For reference, she was about eleven years old at the time.
 The Illegal / int_227431b6
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 The Illegal / int_227431b6
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 Runaways (Comic Book)
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The Illegal / int_227431b6
 The Illegal / int_2275c659
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_2275c659
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House: Juan "Alvie" Alvarez, a friend the title character made in rehab, is a variation. He's actually from Puerto Rico, which makes him a US citizen, but he doesn't have the papers to show it, endangering his planned move to Arizona.
 The Illegal / int_2275c659
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1.0
 The Illegal / int_2275c659
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 House
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The Illegal / int_2275c659
 The Illegal / int_22a88f62
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_22a88f62
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Margarita: The protagonist is a Mexican who's lived in Canada for six years and does not have permission to. After the police learn this when she's in an accident, she gets ordered to leave.
 The Illegal / int_22a88f62
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1.0
 The Illegal / int_22a88f62
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 Margarita
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The Illegal / int_22a88f62
 The Illegal / int_24e41891
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_24e41891
comment
One of Dexter's victims was importing illegal immigrants, then holding them prisoner to extort money from family members already in the country.
 The Illegal / int_24e41891
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_24e41891
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 Dexter
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_24e41891
 The Illegal / int_2664f44a
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_2664f44a
comment
Like a Dragon: Illegal immigrants to Japan show up all over the series, as enemies, quest-givers and allies. It also occasionally becomes a plot point that Japan is one of the few countries in the world that does not grant birthright citizenship, meaning that the children of illegal aliens are also illegal aliens.
Yakuza 0:
Jun Oda mentions in passing that he is Chinese, and stowed away on a boat to get to Japan.
Tetsu Tachibana is a Chinese citizen and the son of a Japanese soldier and a Chinese prostitute, who was denied birthright citizenship simply because the Japanese government chose to disavow all children of soldiers born during World War II. His lack of citizenship becomes a minor plot point, as it prevents him from seeking proper medical attention and forces him to rely on a Back-Alley Doctor.
Similarly Makoto Makimura is also not a citizen, for the same reason, and that makes her a target for various criminals with unsavory intentions. Her backstory involves being kidnapped and the victim of sex slavery of a kind that was so traumatic it made her go blind.
One side-story involves Kiryu helping a trafficked woman get a pizza. Yes, a pizza. She definitely wanted a pizza and not a visa.
There is also the district known as "Little Asia", an area crammed into Kamurocho which is entirely inhabited by illegal immigrants.
Yakuza 2: The Jingweon Mafia is made up entirely of Korean illegal immigrants. Membership in the organization passes from parents to children.
 The Illegal / int_2664f44a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_2664f44a
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 Like a Dragon (Video Game)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_2664f44a
 The Illegal / int_2fa6ab16
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_2fa6ab16
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The villain in Coneheads is an INS agent determined to expose the Coneheads as not only space aliens, but illegal aliens, and have them deported.
 The Illegal / int_2fa6ab16
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1.0
 The Illegal / int_2fa6ab16
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 Coneheads
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The Illegal / int_2fa6ab16
 The Illegal / int_32c541e6
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_32c541e6
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Fullmetal Alchemist:
Ling Yao is an illegal immigrant from a place called Xing. He's sent to jail, but breaks out later. Since he's a prince, he could probably be considered a diplomat or such, but he didn't have his papers (and they wouldn't believe he was only 15) when he was arrested.
The other three characters from Xing (Fu, Lan Fan, and May Chang) are also there illegally, but they never got arrested.
 The Illegal / int_32c541e6
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 The Illegal / int_32c541e6
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 Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)
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The Illegal / int_32c541e6
 The Illegal / int_3371ee58
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_3371ee58
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Roswell, New Mexico takes advantage of its setting near the border to use this. Arturo, Liz's father, is the most prominent example, and has been working towards citizenship for nearly twenty years before finally obtaining his visa in season 2. It also comes up in many of the crime plots, as undocumented criminals and suspects can be deported before the investigation can happen and undocumented victims are harder for the system to track.
 The Illegal / int_3371ee58
featureApplicability
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 The Illegal / int_3371ee58
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 Roswell, New Mexico
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The Illegal / int_3371ee58
 The Illegal / int_34abc987
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_34abc987
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Mo (2022): Variation. As a refugee with an in-progress asylum case, Mo can legally be in the United States. What he can't do, however, is work, resulting in similar "illegal immigrant" plot beats like needing to work for sketchy cash-only places and avoiding ICE in the process.
 The Illegal / int_34abc987
featureApplicability
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 The Illegal / int_34abc987
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 Mo (2022)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_34abc987
 The Illegal / int_352bb510
type
The Illegal
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In Jupiter-Men, Lupita McKay, Arrio's late mother, is revealed to have been an extradimensional visitor from the Magi Dimension who crossed the border between worlds in violation of interdimensional treaties. She later settled down with a husband and gave birth to Arrio and Jackie before passing away some time before the present day. Nathan threatens to deport Arrio for his extradimensional heritage despite living his whole life on Prime/Earth, only relenting when the Avalon twins show Arrio into Nathan's lair and reveal his Secret Identity.
 The Illegal / int_352bb510
featureApplicability
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 The Illegal / int_352bb510
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 Jupiter-Men (Webcomic)
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The Illegal / int_352bb510
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The Illegal
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From 9-1-1: Lone Star, 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.
The first time it comes up, it's an issue, but a solvable one: he washed out of the fire academy four times previously, repeatedly failing the written exams due to his dyslexia. Once his new captain makes sure he takes advantage of ADA accommodations to have the exam read to him, he passes with flying colors, and it looks like his immigration troubles are over.
However, the end of season 2 sees him temporarily reassigned after the main firehouse is burned by an arsonist... and his new captain is a sudden reminder of how the pilot opened with an explanation of how the AFD's institutional racism was so bad, the federal government had to intervene. And the new captain can dismiss Mateo any time he wants.
 The Illegal / int_3b868e5
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 The Illegal / int_3b868e5
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 9-1-1: Lone Star
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The Illegal / int_3b868e5
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The Illegal
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The 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 Machete Kills when Master of Disguise 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.
 The Illegal / int_3c7b5d43
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 The Illegal / int_3c7b5d43
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 Machete
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The Illegal / int_3c7b5d43
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The Illegal
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Elementary: In "You Do It To Yourself" the "wife" of the Victim of the Week reveals that she moved to America from China illegally because the victim promised to marry her. It was only when she arrived that he revealed he had no intention of marrying her and proceded to abuse her knowing that she couldn't ask anyone for help without exposing her status.
 The Illegal / int_4737c653
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 The Illegal / int_4737c653
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 Elementary
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_4737c653
 The Illegal / int_4c1ee69a
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_4c1ee69a
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Parodied in the Cheech Marin comedy Born in East L.A., where the main character is merely mistaken for an illegal alien and tries to get back home to L.A. after he's deported.
 The Illegal / int_4c1ee69a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_4c1ee69a
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 Born in East L.A.
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_4c1ee69a
 The Illegal / int_587691ac
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_587691ac
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Amir from Clade fled Bangladesh after the government collapsed. He spent a long time in a detention center where his wife and daughter died before he escaped and became a beekeeper in the countryside. He lives in constant fear of getting caught and sent back to the detention center.
 The Illegal / int_587691ac
featureApplicability
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 The Illegal / int_587691ac
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 Clade
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_587691ac
 The Illegal / int_5936f6eb
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_5936f6eb
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Coffee Talk: On September 30, a F.I.R.E. agent drops by the café to look for an alien wearing a spacesuit. Neil then reveals in The Stinger that he's the alien being hunted down because he's also an illegal alien in the literal sense. As a result, he's going undercover as a human, and in Episode 2, he changes his name to Silver.
 The Illegal / int_5936f6eb
featureApplicability
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 The Illegal / int_5936f6eb
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 Coffee Talk (Video Game)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_5936f6eb
 The Illegal / int_5a3533fe
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_5a3533fe
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Catalina from My Name Is Earl. She came to America in a box from a Banana Republic called "Guadelatucky" to escape from her mother, who was trying to kill her to get a kidney for her brother.
 The Illegal / int_5a3533fe
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 The Illegal / int_5a3533fe
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 My Name Is Earl
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_5a3533fe
 The Illegal / int_5e7293b7
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The Illegal
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In Justice League: Gods and Monsters, 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 alien.
 The Illegal / int_5e7293b7
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 The Illegal / int_5e7293b7
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 Justice League: Gods and Monsters
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The Illegal / int_5e7293b7
 The Illegal / int_618e306d
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_618e306d
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The Cleaning Lady: Protagonist Thony, a doctor in her native Philippines, is undocumented. She had only intended to stay in the US long enough for her son Luca to undergo a bone-marrow transplant, but the donor for the transplant backed out and she and Luca have had to stay while she waits for another donor, and her visa has since expired. So she works as a cleaning lady before transitioning to less lawful work...
 The Illegal / int_618e306d
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 The Illegal / int_618e306d
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 The Cleaning Lady
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The Illegal / int_618e306d
 The Illegal / int_6234eae7
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The Illegal
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In Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, Usso's family, as well as Shakti, are mentioned to be illegal immigrants to Kassarellia. The reason is that they are actually Colonial citizens from Side 2 (which is currently at war with the Federation), and the Earth Federation very rarely allows immigration from the Colonies to the Earth's surface.
 The Illegal / int_6234eae7
featureApplicability
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 The Illegal / int_6234eae7
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 Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
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The Illegal / int_6234eae7
 The Illegal / int_6449f850
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The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_6449f850
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Monster Musume has Suu the Slime Girl, 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 too many other duties.
 The Illegal / int_6449f850
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 The Illegal / int_6449f850
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 Monster Musume (Manga)
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The Illegal / int_6449f850
 The Illegal / int_6c6852c4
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The Illegal
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Yakuza 0:
Jun Oda mentions in passing that he is Chinese, and stowed away on a boat to get to Japan.
Tetsu Tachibana is a Chinese citizen and the son of a Japanese soldier and a Chinese prostitute, who was denied birthright citizenship simply because the Japanese government chose to disavow all children of soldiers born during World War II. His lack of citizenship becomes a minor plot point, as it prevents him from seeking proper medical attention and forces him to rely on a Back-Alley Doctor.
Similarly Makoto Makimura is also not a citizen, for the same reason, and that makes her a target for various criminals with unsavory intentions. Her backstory involves being kidnapped and the victim of sex slavery of a kind that was so traumatic it made her go blind.
One side-story involves Kiryu helping a trafficked woman get a pizza. Yes, a pizza. She definitely wanted a pizza and not a visa.
There is also the district known as "Little Asia", an area crammed into Kamurocho which is entirely inhabited by illegal immigrants.
 The Illegal / int_6c6852c4
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 The Illegal / int_6c6852c4
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 Yakuza 0 (Video Game)
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The Illegal / int_6c6852c4
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The Illegal
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Yakuza 2: The Jingweon Mafia is made up entirely of Korean illegal immigrants. Membership in the organization passes from parents to children.
 The Illegal / int_6c6852c6
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_6c6852c6
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 Yakuza 2 (Video Game)
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The Illegal / int_6c6852c6
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The Illegal
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Dana's Story is based on a interview given by an actual refugee fleeing war and persecution in Syria with her young sons. She sends her daugther ahead of herself and her son's to Vienna, and when things become too dangerous in Syria she flees under the cloak of night with her other children. She has to deal with Human Traffickers who extort her and threaten to kill her children for organs, brutal police in Macedonia who arrest her 7 times and beat the adult men she's travelling with, and countries turning her away. She ends up in a aid agency care centre at the end of the comic with her sons in Serbia but still hasn't reunited with the rest of her family.
 The Illegal / int_6c7518c9
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 Dana's Story (Webcomic)
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The Illegal / int_6c7518c9
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The Illegal
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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 heavy-handed in the comparison.
Clark muses over the fact that technically he's pretty much the ultimate illegal refugee given he isn't even from the same galaxy. Or species. Whilst as a child he was "officially" adopted by the Kents, thus making him legally an American citizen, it's worth noting on the show this adoption was illegally obtained through Lionel Luthor who owed the Kents a favor.
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 human rights abuse. So quarantining and experimenting on a Kryptonian, for example, wouldn't technically be illegal.
 The Illegal / int_6f734712
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 Smallville
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The Illegal / int_6f734712
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The Illegal
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In Madame Web (2024), Anya's father was deported six months before the events of the film, leaving her to fend for herself. Anya herself doesn’t appear to be certain about her own citizenship status, as she doesn’t know if a brush with the cops will result in her getting deported or put into the foster system.
 The Illegal / int_70163e71
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 Madame Web (2024)
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The Illegal / int_70163e71
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The Illegal
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Indio Solari's "To Beef or Not To Beef" is about an illegal immigrant trying to get into the U.S.
 The Illegal / int_757e1112
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 Indio Solari (Music)
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The Illegal / int_757e1112
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¡Alambrista! is the story of a Mexican bean farmer who sneaks into the United States looking for work, and the various experiences he has as he crisscrosses the Southwest, picking lettuce and strawberries and tomatoes on various farms.
 The Illegal / int_770f14b8
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 Â¡Alambrista!
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The Illegal / int_770f14b8
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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 Illegal / int_79416f79
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 Bowfinger
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The Illegal / int_79416f79
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The Illegal
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Three of the five members of the main cast of 22 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.
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 22
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The Illegal / int_7b30fc61
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Our Miss Brooks: In the episode "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass", Mr. Conklin and Miss Brooks, pretending to be Stretch Snodgrass' parents, spin a story of illegal immigration and a secret marriage to preserve their masquerade. Mr. Conklin's daughter Harriet walked in the room, threatening to blow up the scheme when she identifies Mr. Conklin as her father and claimed her mother (Martha Conklin) was nowhere in sight.
 The Illegal / int_7c4f1adb
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 The Illegal / int_7c4f1adb
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 Our Miss Brooks (Radio)
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The Illegal / int_7c4f1adb
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The Illegal
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The Proposal is a little different, in that Sandra Bullock's character entered the country legally on a work visa, but now she faces deportation because her visa has expired.
 The Illegal / int_7cdca2c9
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 The Illegal / int_7cdca2c9
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 The Proposal
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The Illegal / int_7cdca2c9
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The Office (UK) has Lee and Dawn's sojourn in the US. They entered the US to visit Lee's sister and stayed three years on a 90-day visa, only returning to Slough when the documentary crew offered free tickets. Since the two of them lacked work permits, they're forced to support themselves with jobs that paid cash under the table, like gardening and babysitting while living rent-free with the sister.
 The Illegal / int_82439e5c
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 The Office (UK)
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The Illegal / int_82439e5c
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The Illegal
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Icebox is about a boy from Honduras named Oscar who escapes to live with his uncle in America after he gets forced into joining a gang. Oscar barely makes it into America before immigration finds him wandering alone in the desert. He spends the rest of the film going through the immigration system.
 The Illegal / int_87a02f5a
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 The Illegal / int_87a02f5a
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 Icebox
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The Illegal / int_87a02f5a
 The Illegal / int_8d84ebc5
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_8d84ebc5
comment
Taxi: Latka turns out to be an illegal and marries a prostitute for a green card.
 The Illegal / int_8d84ebc5
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_8d84ebc5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Taxi
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_8d84ebc5
 The Illegal / int_90032631
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_90032631
comment
In Orange Is the New Black, after getting released from prison, Maritza keeps violating her parole and frequently goes clubbing, when she's eventually busted by immigration officials she insists the whole thing is a mistake since she's an American citizen. She's detained and taken to immigrant detention center, where she insists that her citizen status will ensure her quick release. When she finally gets in touch with her mom, he asks her to bring the documentation to prove she was born in the United States and go home, her mom then reveals she lied about her birth, and Maritza was actually born in Colombia, thus making her an illegal immigrant. At the end of the episode Maritza is seen chained to other deportees, boarding a plane that will take them to a country they either forgot about, or never even knew.
 The Illegal / int_90032631
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_90032631
featureConfidence
1.0
 Orange Is the New Black
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_90032631
 The Illegal / int_9b4ea9b5
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_9b4ea9b5
comment
Jupiter Jones from Jupiter Ascending was born on a freight ship in the middle of the Pacific as her mother was fleeing Russia for the United States. As a result, she has no official country of origin and explicitly refers to herself as this during her opening narration.
 The Illegal / int_9b4ea9b5
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_9b4ea9b5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Jupiter Ascending
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_9b4ea9b5
 The Illegal / int_9fa7d06a
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_9fa7d06a
comment
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei has an unusual Japanese version: Maria, an illegal alien, probably from the Philippines, Southeast Asia, or somewhere farther off. She bought the identity of a male student in Itoshiki-sensei's class despite looking like she's ten years old or so, but doesn't bother to crossdress or otherwise act like him. Poverty and lack of education in her home country makes Japanese high school very strange to her.
 The Illegal / int_9fa7d06a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_9fa7d06a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Manga)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_9fa7d06a
 The Illegal / int_a1e59a59
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_a1e59a59
comment
Journey of Hope 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 Illegal / int_a1e59a59
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_a1e59a59
featureConfidence
1.0
 Journey Of Hope
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_a1e59a59
 The Illegal / int_a3496fb1
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_a3496fb1
comment
Yakuza: Like a Dragon: A major theme in the game is the vulnerability and desperation of people living in the cracks of society, illegals among them.
The Geomijul and Liumang are made up of Korean and Chinese illegals, respectively (the bulk of the Geomijul are defectors from the Jingweon Mafia mentioned above). However, many of them are second or third-generation illegals, stuck in lives among the downtrodden because Japan lacks birthright citizenship and there is no path to naturalization. In spite of being able to pass for Japanese, and being Japanese in all the ways that matter, that they are unable to partake of government services, including medical care and education. Naturally, crime is their only way to survive.
 The Illegal / int_a3496fb1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_a3496fb1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Video Game)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_a3496fb1
 The Illegal / int_a6ea43e1
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_a6ea43e1
comment
El Norte is a very dark take on this, focusing on the suffering and despair of two Guatemalans who enter the United States illegally after facing persecution in their home country.
 The Illegal / int_a6ea43e1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_a6ea43e1
featureConfidence
1.0
 El Norte
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_a6ea43e1
 The Illegal / int_b3454ebd
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_b3454ebd
comment
The Starsky & Hutch episode "Velvet Jungle" involves an immigration ring that brings people from Mexico, puts them to work in the garment industry, then forces them to give up half their paychecks.
 The Illegal / int_b3454ebd
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_b3454ebd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Starsky & Hutch
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_b3454ebd
 The Illegal / int_bbe98876
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_bbe98876
comment
The Crocodile God'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 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 punishment for "helping a criminal."
 The Illegal / int_bbe98876
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_bbe98876
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Crocodile God
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_bbe98876
 The Illegal / int_c487221e
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_c487221e
comment
The movie Men in Black starts with the The Men in Black 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 Illegal / int_c487221e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_c487221e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Men in Black
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_c487221e
 The Illegal / int_ca08598f
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_ca08598f
comment
The Wire has dead eastern European woman found in a cargo container as the impetus for that season's investigation.
 The Illegal / int_ca08598f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_ca08598f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Wire
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_ca08598f
 The Illegal / int_cac1f772
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_cac1f772
comment
In episode of CSI, Brass heads the investigation of the murder of the manager of a burger restaurant, and the leading suspects are a homeless man and an employee who stole the identity of another person. In the end, the manager turns out to have been molesting the employee, and when the homeless man tries to intervene, the manager gets killed. Brass tells the female employee that the homeless man has been apprehended, however, she won't be charged with identity theft as she is in the country illegally, and as soon as her interrogation's done, she will be handed over to the immigration officers waiting outside. She counters that she is an American as she was brought as infant and has no memory of the old country, and Brass says he would like to let her go, considering everything she's been through, but his hands are tied.
 The Illegal / int_cac1f772
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_cac1f772
featureConfidence
1.0
 CSI
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_cac1f772
 The Illegal / int_cac20f89
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_cac20f89
comment
JAG: In "Sightings", a terrified Mexican man in tattered clothing appears outside J.D.'s trailer just before the bright lights and deafening noise hit (and Cathy's disappearance). It seems he was trying to escape from the Cartel's underground base, where illegal immigrants were being forced to work in the drug running operation.
 The Illegal / int_cac20f89
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_cac20f89
featureConfidence
1.0
 JAG
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_cac20f89
 The Illegal / int_ce91add
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_ce91add
comment
Le Havre: Idrissa, a teen boy found in a shipping container in the port of Le Havre, trying to join his mother in London. Also Marius's friend Chang, who reveals that "Chang" isn't his real name and he's been living in France under forged papers for years. There's also an illicit refugee camp at Calais near the coast, where Marius goes to find Idrissa's grandfather.
 The Illegal / int_ce91add
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_ce91add
featureConfidence
1.0
 Le Havre
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_ce91add
 The Illegal / int_d0940549
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_d0940549
comment
St. Vincent (2014):
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.
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.
 The Illegal / int_d0940549
featureApplicability
-0.3
 The Illegal / int_d0940549
featureConfidence
1.0
 St. Vincent (2014)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_d0940549
 The Illegal / int_d3f1610c
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_d3f1610c
comment
The central conflict of Blue Bayou is that Antonio was never naturalized as a citizen despite being in the United States since age three, and is now facing deportation.
 The Illegal / int_d3f1610c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_d3f1610c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Blue Bayou
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_d3f1610c
 The Illegal / int_d6fa84c7
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_d6fa84c7
comment
Silicon Valley: Gilfoyle is a formerly-illegal Canadian.
 The Illegal / int_d6fa84c7
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_d6fa84c7
featureConfidence
1.0
 Silicon Valley
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_d6fa84c7
 The Illegal / int_d99024a2
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_d99024a2
comment
The protagonist/narrator of the Genesis song "Illegal Alien", which provides the page quote.
 The Illegal / int_d99024a2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_d99024a2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Genesis (Band) (Music)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_d99024a2
 The Illegal / int_de8a2466
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_de8a2466
comment
In the Midst of Winter: Evelyn was allowed to stay after she crossed the border because she was younger than 18, but after she reaches that age, her stepsister tips off the ICE. So she has to leave her mother and ends up finding work out of state.
 The Illegal / int_de8a2466
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_de8a2466
featureConfidence
1.0
 In the Midst of Winter
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_de8a2466
 The Illegal / int_e28cb9ba
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_e28cb9ba
comment
In a subplot, the Disney soccer film The Big Green sees the titular team's captain and his mother fleeing Texas police. She's afraid of their being split up, because he's a citizen and she isn't.
 The Illegal / int_e28cb9ba
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_e28cb9ba
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Big Green
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_e28cb9ba
 The Illegal / int_f0fd28fa
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_f0fd28fa
comment
Night Visions: The episode "Cargo" revolves around a crewman on a freight ship who discovers that one of the shipping containers is full of people, implied to be eastern europeans being smuggled by human traffickers. They're actually supernatural monsters, possibly some kind of vampire, being brought to the States to work as assassins for the Russian mob.
 The Illegal / int_f0fd28fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_f0fd28fa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Night Visions
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_f0fd28fa
 The Illegal / int_f655ed11
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_f655ed11
comment
Frasier and Niles decide to buy a restaurant together. On opening night, Niles enters the kitchen and mentions that one of the guests is the head of the immigration bureau. Cue the entire kitchen staff running away because it turns out none of them have visas.
 The Illegal / int_f655ed11
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_f655ed11
featureConfidence
1.0
 Frasier
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_f655ed11
 The Illegal / int_f721e67
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_f721e67
comment
No One Gets Out Alive: Ambar is an undocumented illegal immigrant with very little money. When she finds strange things are happening in the building, and suspects that the tenants are behind it, she eschews going to the police about it because she's afraid of being discovered.
 The Illegal / int_f721e67
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_f721e67
featureConfidence
1.0
 No One Gets Out Alive
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_f721e67
 The Illegal / int_f8a7362
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_f8a7362
comment
Midnight Caller:
Kid Salinas, aka Carlos Mendez, came to America illegally before falling under the control of a corrupt boxing promoter.
Alicia Flores from "Uninvited Guests" fled to America after her brother was murdered by military police. When she witnesses a murder, she doesn't want to go to the police for fear of being deported.
 The Illegal / int_f8a7362
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_f8a7362
featureConfidence
1.0
 Midnight Caller
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_f8a7362
 The Illegal / int_f942da8
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_f942da8
comment
The S.W.O.R.D. (2009) 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 Illegal / int_f942da8
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_f942da8
featureConfidence
1.0
 S.W.O.R.D. (2009) (Comic Book)
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_f942da8
 The Illegal / int_ffb43795
type
The Illegal
 The Illegal / int_ffb43795
comment
Cobra Kai: Invoked. Johnny explains Miguel's presence in his newly started not-yet-up-to-code dojo to a building inspector with that Miguel is an illegal he picked up to help with repairs, and most definitely not a student. The building inspector accepts this without comment.
 The Illegal / int_ffb43795
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Illegal / int_ffb43795
featureConfidence
1.0
 Cobra Kai
hasFeature
The Illegal / int_ffb43795

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Illegal
processingCategory2
Characters as Device
 The Illegal
processingCategory2
Crime and Punishment Tropes
 RobiHachi / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Dark Reign (Comic Book) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Marvel Comics 2 (Comic Book) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 DarkReign
seeAlso
The Illegal
 Friendly Foreign Exchange Student Spider-Man! (Fanfic) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Anchor Foal (Fanfic) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Seven Days in Sunny June (Fanfic) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Â¡Alambrista! / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 American History X / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Bloody Brotherhood / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Blue Bayou / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Blue Beetle (2023) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Bridesmaids / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Capernaum / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Housewarming / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Human Cargo (1936) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 In the Heights / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Jupiter Ascending / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Knives Out / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 La Promesse / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Le Havre / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Madame Web (2024) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 No One Gets Out Alive / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 St. Vincent
seeAlso
The Illegal
 St. Vincent (2014) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 The Big Green / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 The Proposal / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 13 Minutes (2021) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 22 / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 America Is Not the Heart / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Cop Craft / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Flower Drum Song / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Jaine Austen Mysteries / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 The Black Mountain / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 MyMadFatDiary
seeAlso
The Illegal
 Political Stereotype
seeAlso
The Illegal
 Genesis (Album) (Music) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Indio Solari (Music) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Ash vs. Evil Dead / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Black Snow (2022) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Broad City / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Cold Case / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Dexter / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Engrenages / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Fresh Off the Boat / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Hunter (2003) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 JAG / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Midnight Caller / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Mo (2022) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 National Treasure: Edge of History / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 9-1-1: Lone Star / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Part of Me / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Prey (UK Miniseries) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Recht Op Recht / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Silicon Valley / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Starsky & Hutch / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Superstore / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 The Cleaning Lady / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 The Office (UK) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 The Saint / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 The Twilight Zone (2019) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 UK Border Force / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Waiting for God / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 What Would You Do? / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Real Lives (Video Game) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Adastra (2018) (Visual Novel) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 True Remembrance (Visual Novel) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Jake and Amir (Web Video) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Dana's Story (Webcomic) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 My Giant Friend / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Sausage Party / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal
 Love and Rockets (Comic Book) / int_2989316a
type
The Illegal