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.