For me, the essay  “Illegality” and Deportability in Everyday Life by Nicholas P Genova provided strong evidence to prove something that I already held to be true: The concept of human illegality is a construct that benefits some at the expense of tarnishing the image of  many migrants.  The movement of humans isn’t inherently illegal. Genova brings up the point that illegality is a relationship to a state and a state can ultimatley manipulate the terms of what it means to be “legal”.  When a state sees fit, it can criminalize the movement of people and reinforce that idea until it seems natural to associate migration with breaking a law.  Institutions like mass-media or government agencies (that often benefit from detaining undocumented immigrants) may use their power to reinforce this point. This is especially  true for migrants who are considered particularly “hot” at any given time i.e. the current situation of Mexican migrants crossing the US Border.

I saw the effects of the label “illegal” in a class discussion I participated in last week. Every student in this class was to write an essay on a topic that they are especially passionate about. One international student presented her essay about DACA and illegal immigration. This student went on and on about why DACA is wrong and consistently used ‘because it’s illegal” (to cross the border) as a reason to condemn DACA students, specifically coming from Mexico. This student cited her own experience of coming to the U.S from her country “legally” as the right way to  come to America. After presenting her point my teacher pointed out that there was very little differnece between her story and that of many DACA recipients. In fact the only difference really was where she was coming from and the privileges that allowed her to come with very few problems. The student didn’t agree at all and this was the first time I had ever considered that a perspective like hers existed. Because the concept of illegality is so heavily enforced, there are people like this student who genuinely believe that they are more entitled to a better life or education. It may just be a word but “illegal” carries a weight that can often be violent in the way that it separates human being from one another.