10 Times Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Went Woke
6. Anti-Immigration Spotlight
Sanctuary touches on some key Star Trek topics, with the universal translator being the earliest. When considering all of the differing alien languages in the universe, the translator is a wonderful tool, as long as one doesn't think too hard about how it works. This, according to Sanctuary's credited writer Frederick Rappaport, was one of the main ingredients to the episode's denouement. Understanding, or lack thereof, between the Skreeas and the Bajorans leads to the downbeat ending.
When Rappaport brought his script to Michael Piller, it was the latter who included the ending, whereas Rappaport had envisioned a more upbeat conclusion, one in which the Skreeas settled on Bajor. Michael Westmore designed a look for these aliens that resembled psoriasis, aimed to evoke a feeling of disgust in the viewer deliberately. Where one Skreea with this look may inspire sympathy, an entire race was meant to 'other' them. This, combined with the language barrier, was a deliberate attempt to not only divide the Skreeas from the Bajorans but to highlight their alien nature.
The episode, though deliberate in its message, took on a greater depth when barely a year later, Californian voters enacted Proposition 187. This proposition, introduced by Republican assemblyman Richard Lee Mountjoy, sought to deny public schooling, healthcare, and funding to undocumented immigrants. It was nicknamed the 'Save Our State' legislature.
Though the ballot was passed, it was immediately challenged in court and was found unconstitutional, though it took a further five years for the case to come to a close.
Though immigration was not a unique topic in 1994, Deep Space Nine sought to highlight the challenge faced by these aliens, while also pushing the regular characters into an unsympathetic light. Kira is the focus as Haneek coldly turns away from Bajor, though her journey to this point was understandable; one cannot help but see Kira as part of the greater problem.