The Illegal

Viola Hill is a journalist who self-describes as “blagaybulled—black, gay, and disabled” (63). She is completing her usual morning workout in her wheelchair when she is passed by a very fast jogger. His identity is not given, though his description matches Keita’s. Viola observes him as “Black. Short, tightly cropped hair, medium height […] this man had proper marathon shorts, slit up the side of the thighs” (64). The runner advises Viola to turn around because there is a mob up ahead. She doesn’t want to miss a potential story, so she rushes to the scene and finds a shipping container at the pier. She announces to the police and immigration enforcement officers that she is with The Clarkson Evening Telegram and that she wants to interview the refugees being removed from the shipping container and placed in a paddy wagon. She asks the refugees what is happening to them and why. Few answer. One young woman says she cannot wake her baby and that she needs help. Viola threatens to report the officers who are ignoring and mistreating this woman until finally, the constable approaches to help. Viola then asks a group of white people to explain why they are present and holding signs that read “Enough is Enough,” “Send ’Em Back,” and “Who Invited Them?” (66).