Immigrants in Our Own Land

The phrase “old world” is used three times in the poem (Lines 10, 20, 61), which underlies its significance. In all three instances, it refers to life before prison whereas the word “new” typically refers to incoming inmates, “new immigrants” (Line 55), who are just arriving to prison, "the new land” (Line 8). In the context of immigration, the “old world” refers to an immigrant’s country of origin, most frequently used for European countries (for more on that, see Themes). While Baca uses the phrase in part to establish the analogy between prisoners and immigrants, “old world” stands more broadly for a previous stage in life which one must leave behind. Some people’s lives are radically changed because persecution or poverty forces them to leave their native countries. For others, a criminal conviction entailing a prison sentence profoundly transforms their life. The contrasting phrases “old world” and “new land” symbolize the immensity of that change. It requires initiation into the new life: new clothes, new documents, shots, counselors, tests (Lines 3-9). It engenders hope for improvement (Lines 20-24), usually unfulfilled (Lines 38-41). Inmates remember the “old world” with scorn because they were mistreated there (Lines 33-37), but also with nostalgia, “talking about how good the old world was” (Line 61).