Outlaw My Life As An Undocumented Immigrant Summary

Immigrants have many hardships in their lives because often they are not accepted by their new communities. The 3 literature works, “The Trip”, a short story, “Exile”, a poem, and “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”, an article, each emphasizes the lives of immigrant outcasts by showing the difficulties of not having the proper documentation. Immigrants in these writings have to accept that they are not wanted and have to make a living while the journey tends to be troublesome.
“The Trip”, by Laila Lalami is a good representation of an immigrant’s journey, due to the encounters being very realistic. For instance, Lalami also includes what the character, Murad is feeling in the midst of his journey, “Other days he could think only about the coast guard's…”(pg. 47). Furthermore, this quote shows how immigrants must be cautious when leaving their countries since the law is constantly breathing down their necks. Immigrants are

sometimes aren’t even treated like people when in other countries since they are considered to be violating laws and such. An example of mistreatment towards the immigrants, in the story was when Murad encountered his lawyer in which she tells them, “... they are here illegally and that they must sign the paper that Guardia Civil are going to give them.” (pg.54). The lawyer in the story displays no sympathy towards Murad and the others and they have to accept deportation without even a little defence. Immigrants have many conflicts when leaving their countries since the trip is risky and on top of that they receive no outside support.
The poem “Exile” is about immigrating to another country, but unlike “The Trip”, “Exile” focuses more on the emotions of newly arrived immigrants instead of their external conflicts. The title of the poem is relatable to a real life scenario since immigrants don’t know what is store for them when they leave their old lives behind, “... for you knew as we stepped inside the cabin a part of both of us had been set adrift.” (43-44). There is a feeling of loss associated with an immigrant leaving his country, but when they do there is no turning back since their future relies on whether they can make a living or not. The newcomers in the story always had a hint of doubt when exploring the country,k but tried to make the most of it, “… both of us trying hard to feel luckier” (58), “ … eager, afraid, not yet sure of the outcome.” (68). Notably , immigrants gamble their futures with the unknown when leaving their countries, but have to remain optimistic to make the most of it.
The article, “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”, shows the struggles of not being a proper citizen through the experiences of an immigrant, Jose Antonio Vargas.

Jose talks about how he has dealt with things in the past which includes treatment such as the time when he went to the DMV to get his license, “I handed the clerk my green card as a proof of US residency, she flipped it around examining it. ‘This is fake she whispered. Don’t come back here again.’” (Vargas 3). Jose’s encounter with the clerk shows some of society’s hate towards immigrants which is shown by the clerk’s hostile language. Jose may have bypassed this in the future, but had lost many opportunities when he did not have a license. Jose’s calling was to be a reporter, but when he was offered internships, his undocumentation always held him back, “... She called back with the answer I feared: I couldn't do the internship.” (Vargas 30) Jose did however persevere in doing what he wanted but is among those few who beat the “system” unlike most

immigrants.
Immigrants do not have care-free lives because they always have to watch their backs. The 3 works, “The Trip”, “Exile”, and “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”, show the lives of immigrants in depth while also showing how society acts towards them. Some societies don’t accept immigrants so they are forced to live like outcasts in their new lives.