How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Men in Black.
Quote #1
KAY: Looks like you fell off the bus in the wrong part of town, amigo. In fact, I'm gonna bet dollars to pesos you're not from anywhere near here. (Cuts open the costume.) Mikey?
(Mikey speaks in alien language.)
KAY: Mikey, when did they let you out of jail?
Mikey's disguised as an undocumented immigrant, people often viewed as alien Others in American society; he's also an extraterrestrial, this film's fictional Other. Right off the bat, the film's telling the viewer how to read the aliens upfront—the extraterrestrials represent Others who come here to assimilate into our society and culture. Kay's problem with Mikey isn't that he's an alien—just that he broke the law. As long as they're willing to obey MiB rules, Kay's fine with whoever wants to migrate to our lovely planet.
Quote #2
KAY: Must have been for an assassination. Who's the target?
KAY: I don't know.
KAY: God damn it, Jeebs!
JEEBS: All right. That's confiscated, and I want you on the next transport off this rock or I'm gonna shoot you where it don't grow back.
JAY: Yeah, and… And I'm gonna be back to talk about them Rolexes.
The film touches upon a pretty important issue about immigration policy, but for the sake of its comedic pacing, it glosses over it quickly. As an immigrant, Jeebs has little recourse about Kay's order to leave. He can't go to another authority to request help; there is no other authority. In Jeebs's case, we know that Kay's suspicions are correct, but we have to ask: What if they weren't?
Quote #3
EDGAR BUG: You know, I've noticed an infestation here. Everywhere I look, in fact, nothing but undeveloped, unevolved barely conscious pond scum totally convinced of their own superiority as they scurry about their short, pointless lives.
The Bug represents the darker side of immigration. Sometimes immigrants don't adapt to our laws or social norms. Or they travel under the radar to perform violent, illegal acts. Again, the film races past this, but it's a common concern raised in the debate over immigration reform.
Quote #4
KAY: […] They were a group of intergalactic refugees. Wanted to use the Earth as an apolitical zone for creatures without a planet. You ever see the movie Casablanca? It's the same thing, except no Nazis. We agreed and we concealed all the evidence of their landing.
By comparing the refugees to the ones in Casablanca, Kay's implying that they came to Earth to escape persecution or other bad social and economic conditions, like a gravel shortage. The folks waiting around in Casablanca were escaping Nazi Germany. These aliens are doing likewise and immigrating to Earth to escape their, um… space Nazis?
Quote #5
KAY: […] Humans, for the most part, don't have a clue. They don't want one or need one either. They're happy. They think they have a good bead on things.
JAY: But why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
KAY: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you knew that people were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll knew tomorrow.
Do you think Kay's right or is he underestimating humanity on this one? To be fair, we're not just talking about people who speak another language here.
Quote #6
KAY: This map shows the location of every registered alien on Earth and any given time, some of them under constant surveillance. Everyone on those screens is an alien. In public, they are as normal as you are. In private, well… you'll get the idea.
On Kay's huge observation monitor are movie industry big shots like Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, and George Lucas, plus politicians like Newt Gingrich. They're all people who have shaped our society or culture in some fashion. Is the film slyly hinting that America would be worse off without its immigration heritage and pool of talented Others?
Quote #7
KAY: You're doing fine, ace. What kind of emergency? What's the rush to get off the planet all of a sudden?
REGGIE: We just don't like the neighborhood anymore. Some of the new arrivals.
KAY: What new arrivals? Does it have anything to do with the crasher from last night?
Reggie's the counterpoint for the Bug; he comes to Earth and then leaves because he wants a good, safe life for his family. The Bug's a criminal. This film has nailed the current arguments about immigration, also illustrating a pattern that once immigrants are here, they sometimes want to close the door behind them. All Americans, except Native Americans, were immigrants at one time.