Jokes are often used to uplift negative emotions. However, some have used jokes to discriminate against the undocumented community. “Illegal” and “legal,” for example, act as a base for humor at the expense of the undocumented community. Such “jokes” extend to real-world challenges faced by the community, such as deportation, racism and overall xenophobic interactions. 

“Dark humor” is often an excuse for people’s offensive statements. However, there is no excuse for xenophobic rhetoric. When individuals make jokes about those who are undocumented while sitting in the privilege of not having to face immigration conflicts or the threat of deportation, it is unsettling. It’s clear that while people phrase these statements as “jokes,” they genuinely are not jokes —; they are just xenophobic resentment dressed up as a joke. 

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Making jokes about the undocumented only serve to cause harm to the community and are inhumane — and it’s more important than ever to make the distinction between a light-hearted joke and one that has malicious and negative intent. 

Jokes made on deportation proceedings are careless and ignorant of the inhumane treatment caused by the immigration system. Deportation is a reality for many, as in 2023 an estimated  142,000 faced deportation; this number only includes those who experience deportation firsthand, not taking into account those who witness their loved ones taken from them. 

The heart-wrenching experience of not being able to see your family due to not having a document has never been funny. It is an immense privilege to have your family in the same country, to travel in luxury and be so far removed from the undocumented experience to feel comfortable forming jokes about an immigrant’s reality. 

It is clear these jokes are inhumane, but further, they make it easier to normalize discrimination. When jokes are made about the undocumented community, it contributes to the notion that blatant discrimination against the community is acceptable. Making jokes about someone’s status, especially in public, is dangerous — not only does it place them in a vulnerable position, but you are actively letting potentially xenophobic people know their status as well. Joking about someone’s status, no matter the setting, is never okay, as you are not the one facing the serious ramifications simply for being undocumented. 

However, those who are living this reality should not be inclined to joke about immigration, either; there have been instances where children of undocumented immigrants catch themselves joking about immigration issues. While they live in fear for their family, this does not mean they have the right to joke about immigration issues. They are not personally living in that reality themselves, and such jokes only expose their xenophobic mindset. There is no humor in telling someone else’s immigration story, as the only ones laughing are those living outside of that reality. Your parents’ trauma is not your joke to make. 

For children of undocumented immigrants who co-opt their parents’ immigration status to tell a joke, this causes harm to the view people carry on the community: You should be mindful of the heft that your words carry. Making jokes about the undocumented community solely because they do not hold documentation is disrespectful. 

Dark humor is not an excuse to discriminate against the undocumented community. When these jokes are made, the people laughing are those who are against the community. Deportation, nor any other circumstance suffered by those who are undocumented, has never been funny. The issues that occur in detention centers are a reality for the millions awaiting justice. Those who have passed away trying to cross the border deserve peace and not a joke that strips them away from their humanity. Undocumented immigrants are people who experience trauma, fear and racial injustice from the broken immigration system — all of which are not material for the same degrading and uninspired jokes, publicly or privately.

Heydy Vasquez is a sophomore writing about the lack of support for undocumented students on college campuses. Her column, “UndocuTales,” runs every other Wednesday.