Toward a Critical Social Work Ethics of Immigration, Migration, and Human Rights

Abstract

The social work community has long been committed to human rights and the specific issue of immigration in both policy and practice. But what is the underlying rationale or grounding for this commitment? Furthermore, there are extremely troubling ethical problems embedded in the immigration issue. What actions might we take as social workers to assist our immigrant neighbors and to change the immigration systems on global, national or local scales? Immigration policy and practice across the globe also have deep racist and oppressive foundations. As social workers, we are decisive in our loathing of racism and oppression but how and why are these abhorrent practices also unethical and immoral at their core? To explore these questions, this article presents its argument in stages. It first briefly outlines the immigration experience, focusing in particular on the American context. Next, the article portrays the racist and oppressive underpinnings of immigration, and then points out underlying ethical concerns. That section is followed by a discussion of an overall conceptual and ethical framework, principles, and suggested action steps for professional practice with immigrants. A brief discussion then follows about the philosophical notion of hospitality and its pertinence to social work and immigration. The final section proposes a call to social work action, hoping to spark broader involvement of social workers in advocating on behalf of immigrant rights in their professional and personal lives, and how such commitments are critical for the protection of a moral, democratic society.