Prompt for Critical Reflection #1, Illegal: Reflections of an Undocumented Immigrant
What? “Words are powerful tools. They shape attitudes, set expectations and determine behavior” (p. xi). What are the words that are used to describe the author in American political discourse? How are the laws that constrain the author linked to these words? How do these laws affect the author over the course of the book? Include specific examples from throughout the book.
So What? How are words and laws connected to the ways in which people interact with the author? Use specific examples from the text. How do these interactions affect the author? Use direct quotes from the text to support your analysis. What is the paradoxical effect of the author’s social and economic upward mobility on the way he thinks about his status as an undocumented immigrant? How does the author explain this change? Over the course of the book, how does his immigration status affect his relationships with work colleagues, friends and family members?
Now What? Do you think this book is important to the immigration debate we are currently having in American politics? Why or why not? How does the book influence the way you understand and think about immigration policies? How is this book different from the political discourse typical in the news? What do you think about our current immigration policies and political efforts to deport undocumented immigrants? For example, should all undocumented immigrants have the right to a path to citizenship?
