The central conflict in The Elephant in the Room revolves around Oya Tekin's immigration issues. Despite legally arriving in the United States 14 years before the story's beginning, changes in immigration laws force her to return to Turkey. Sloan suggests that this change in immigration law is unjust, resulting in the separation of families who have lived in the United States for years without incident.

Alp Tekin is Kurdish, the largest ethnic minority in Turkey, comprising roughly 18% of the population (“Kurds in Turkey.” Harvard Divinity School). The Kurds are the fourth largest ethnic group in the Middle East. Following World War I, the 1920 Treaty of Sevres included a provision for a Kurdish state, Kurdistan (“Who Are the Kurds.” British Broadcasting Corporation, 15 Oct. 2019.). However, three years later, the Treaty of Lausanne established the boundaries for modern Turkey without a separate Kurdish state (“Who Are the Kurds”). Today, Kurds primarily reside on the borders of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Armenia.

Turkey has a long history of prejudice against the Kurds. The grant of Kurdistan in 1920 sparked the Turkish War of Independence as Turkey fought to reclaim the land (“Who Are the Kurds”).