Discrimination Against Undocumented Immigrants

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The presenting problem in my group is discrimination against undocumented immigrants. “Discrimination is acting on the basis of prejudice.” (“Institutional Racism and The Social Work Profession: A Call to Action”, 2007). Hutchison (2015) says, how waves of immigration have historically been accompanied by anti-immigrant sentiment. There are many reasons for discrimination against undocumented immigrants and some may include, fear that new immigrants will dilute the “purity” of the native culture, racial and religious bias, and fear of economic competition. (Hutchison, 2015, p. 18). We can see here that there are plenty of reasons as to why there could be discrimination against undocumented immigrants. It is our job as social workers to be aware of the diversity in our community and help these populations as much as we can. There are countless immigrants who risk their life coming to America so that they can have a better life for their families. “Illegal aliens come to the United …show more content…

The NASW code of ethics states, “Social workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social injustice.” (NASW, 2017). This shows how ending discrimination is important in our code of ethics. This is why helping undocumented immigrants is also significant because they are generally afraid to open up to others they do not know. ”A central tenet of social work is empathizing with clients and earning their trust; this is doubly important in a population such as this, who are often marginalized and frequently avoid interacting with mainstream society.” (Acosta, 2013). As a social worker we should be aware of the diversity in our communities. (Hutchison, 2015, p. 18). It is up to us to help undocumented individuals access services and help them with issues of unpaid

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