What does “They took our jobs!” really mean in South Park? The catchphrase and its satire, explained

South Park first aired in 1997 and immediately took a unique place on television. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the series is based in the wintery, fictional town of South Park, Colorado, and documents the outrageous antics of four fourth-graders: Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny. They all have a distinct place in the group — Stan's the normal guy, Kyle's the conscience, Cartman's the anarchy, and Kenny... well, Kenny dies a lot (particularly in the early years).

What's always defined South Park is how aggressively it commits to satire. The jokes are unsparingly raw, the animation is notoriously crude, and nothing is sacred. Politics, religion, celebrity gossip, social trends — Parker and Stone attack everything and everyone. They have long referred to themselves as "equal opportunity offenders," and the show lives up to that with a combination of surrealism, intelligent wit, and just enough bad taste to get people talking.

South Park has changed over the years. It began as shock-value gags and cartoon anarchy and evolved into a piercing, and occasionally surprisingly reflective, eye on contemporary life. They are renowned for working up episodes in less than a week, a pace that allows them to respond to current events nearly in real time. That speed has made South Park a cultural mirror — one that reflects what's happening now in the most grossly exaggerated, side-splitting, and uncomfortable ways possible.

Of all the catchphrases South Park has provided us, few have landed harder — or lingered longer — than "They took our jobs!" It’s a full-on satire of American anxieties about immigration, the economy, and who gets to belong.

To really get why that phrase matters — and why it still pops up in debates, memes, and late-night jokes — you need to dig into where it came from, how the show used it, and what it says about the world outside the cartoon.

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The origins of "They took our jobs!" in South Park

First appearance and context

The now-famous catchphrase "They took our jobs!" initially appears in Season 8's episode Goobacks. In this episode, South Park is inundated with time-traveling immigrants from the year 4035 — also known as "Goobacks" (a fictional slur combining "goo" and "going back," clearly taking a shot at the derogatory term "wetbacks"). These future laborers are content to do just about anything for pennies. Literally. One dude cleans snow for 25 cents. Of course, the locals lose their minds.

Enter Darryl Weathers, a working-class construction guy who becomes the face of the hysteria. He bellows out the soon-to-be-famous line: "They took our jobs!" Then the entire mob joins in, each iteration more slurred and absurd — "Dey turk er jerbs!" — until it's all but caveman grunting.

It's a masterful (and ruthless) parody of the way some arguments against immigration depend more on emotional outbursts than reason.

But here's how South Park ups the ante on the satire: The Goobacks aren't intruding. They are escaping a wretched future of poverty and overpopulation. They have traveled back in time merely to get work and take care of their families.

And when the townsfolk attempt to "solve" the issue by fixing the future — adding wind turbines, recycling, all that green goodness — the Goobacks just disappear. The jobs, though, are still available. It seems nobody wants to do them.

Then, in a classic South Park twist, the answer somehow becomes the men of the town organizing a massive gay orgy to prevent future generations from being born. It's ridiculous, excessive, and meant to illustrate just how silly scapegoating immigrants is.

Satirical intent

"They took our jobs!" isn’t just a funny soundbite — it is South Park swinging hard at a very real argument you’ve probably heard before: That immigrants are the reason native-born workers can’t find employment.

This idea pops up a lot in political debates, especially when the economy is shaky or the population is shifting.

However, rather than criticizing it with a serious lecture, South Park resorts to outright hyperbole to criticize just how simplistic (and honestly, panicked) that argument truly is. The manner in which the line becomes more slurred each time — "Dey derk er jerbs!" — isn't done merely for effect. It's an intelligent method of illustrating how some anti-immigration discourse becomes more emotional than rational.

The show doesn’t just stop at making fun of the shouting. The show turns things around.

As the townspeople frantically grasp for more and more outlandish means to prevent the time-traveling immigrants from reproducing — including a weird all-male orgy to avoid further births — the show goes all in on absurdity to expose the extent to which the entire mindset is illogical.

Here's the punchline with actual bite: Once Goobacks have disappeared, due to the town's newfound eco-friendly crusade, all those "stolen" jobs remain sitting there. Unoccupied. Because, surprise — no one else wants them.

That final twist hits home: It's not that immigrants are stealing opportunities. Oftentimes, they are doing jobs nobody else is waiting in line for.

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The satirical power of "They took our jobs!"

The reason "They took our jobs!" is such a great catchphrase isn't only because it is hilarious — it is because it encapsulates an entire snarl of real-life tension in one over-the-top line. By giving this hysterical chant to a bunch of over-the-top, oblivious townspeople, the show is obviously mocking how simple it is to blame immigrants for economic woes, without bothering to look deeper.

The sentence begins as a distinct statement and rapidly disintegrates into a slurred refrain of "Dey derk er jerbs!" — essentially reducing the argument to farce. The louder the crowd screams, the more incoherent they become.

It is a twisted method of illustrating how anger frequently supplants facts when people discuss jobs and immigration.

And South Park isn't goofing off. Critics and academics have noted that the series employs humor to poke holes in stereotypes and challenge sloppy thinking. It doesn't duck controversy — it heads directly for it. Here, economic fear is what fuels xenophobia, and the series exposes just how quickly fear can take the place of facts and compassion.

Moreover, "They took our jobs!" didn't remain in the realm of South Park. It leapt into memes, political arguments, and late-night humor. It has been referenced in everything from spats on X (formerly Twitter) to cable television. In a strange twist, some folks actually use it without irony, missing the entire joke.

That's what makes satire effective — and a bit risky. It reflects back at society, but it isn't always in charge of how others see the reflection. South Park lives in that in-between space.

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How South Park keeps coming back to immigration

Goobacks wasn't an isolated incident. Immigration, labor, and how people respond to both have arisen repeatedly in the show, each time with a new (and generally absurd) spin.

Consider the The Last of the Meheecans episode. It begins as a straightforward kids' game — Texans vs. Mexicans — but soon becomes a biting commentary on border politics.

It's a "reverse migration" when Mexican workers begin returning to Mexico, and all of a sudden, Americans panic because the jobs nobody else will do aren't being completed.

It reverses the typical narrative and reveals an uncomfortable fact: Many systems depend on the very people they frequently disavow or blame.

Then there's Mexican Joker, the premiere episode of Season 23, which explores immigration detention and the paranoia that engulfs it. The show goes to the extreme (as per usual), but it's not all for laughs. There's actual commentary beneath the foolishness — about policy, fear, and the unforeseen realities of making people political pawns.