







































   Columbia Social Work Review, Volume V       33

Undocumented Immigrants and Policy Advocacy: Reasserting the 
Activist Roots of Social Work

Tatum Stewart

The social work profession is positioned to play a critical role in rede-
fining policies surrounding historically marginalized immigrants in the 
United States. The creation of the concept of the “undocumented immi-
grant” reflects an embedded discriminatory aspect of immigration policy, 
and becomes reinforced in policies that actively dehumanize undocu-
mented immigrants, inhibiting their social integration. When the social 
origins of law cease to be recognized, the legal concept of the “undoc-
umented immigrant” becomes understood as the result of law-breaking 
by the individual rather than as a socially constructed concept. Undocu-
mented immigrants acknowledge that they have adapted to an American 
way of life, yet they do not feel they belong. Undocumented youth expe-
rience a shift from feeling a sense of belonging to feeling marginalized. 
The code of ethics shared by all social workers provides an ideal foun-
dation for social workers to pursue roles as social justice activists. This 
paper makes two specific recommendations. First, national social work 
organizations should emphasize the history of social activism in social 
work. Second, social workers should develop skills to assert political 
views that embrace policy goals and advance social justice. By enhanc-
ing their capacity for policy change, social workers will realign with the 
profession’s activist roots.

 Immigration policies in the United States have historically mar-
ginalized undocumented immigrants (Furman, Ackerman, Loya, Jones, & 
Nalini, 2012). This marginalization has only intensified since the events 
of 9/11 (Furman, et al., 2012; Nielson, 2009). Immigration policies have 
become less welcoming as policymakers have begun to view immigrants 
“as potential terrorist suspects first and welcome newcomers second” 
(Tumlin, 2004, p.1175). This attitude has greatly influenced state poli-
cies, such as Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and California Proposition 187, 
as well as federal policies, such as Secure Communities. Policies like 
these target immigrants who enter the United States from its Southwest 
border with Mexico (Furman, et al., 2012), who the House Committee 
on Homeland Security (2007) asserted constitute “an ever-present threat 



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Undocumented Immigrants and Public Advocacy

of terrorist infiltration,” and “are from countries known to support and 
sponsor terrorism” (p. 4). As a result of this sentiment, immigration has 
become increasingly criminalized, particularly for undocumented immi-
grants (Furman, et al., 2012). For example, Secure Communities allows 
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to access 
state criminal databases to screen for undocumented immigrants, who 
are subsequently incarcerated and deported. Ultimately, through such 
policies, the legal rights necessary for economic and social success are 
purposefully withheld from undocumented immigrants.
 Policies that criminalize immigrants prevail even in the face of 
studies that demonstrate greater economic benefits from education rather 
than deportation and/or incarceration (Baum & Ma, 2007; Meissner, 
Kerwin, Muzaffar, & Bergeron, 2013; Simpson, 2012). The disconnect 
between policy implementation and research suggests that policymak-
ing in this realm is not always rooted in economic analysis, but in social 
sentiments. The gulf between policy practice and research results in the 
dehumanization of undocumented immigrants. The contextualization of 
their complex human experiences goes unacknowledged, and an immi-
grant’s criminalized, undocumented status becomes a defining aspect of 
her or his social identity.
 The social work profession is positioned to play a critical role in 
redefining policies and attitudes surrounding historically marginalized 
immigrants in the United States. This paper will illuminate the social 
work profession’s capacity for such influence by examining the transfor-
mation of social work over time. It will shed light on how social workers 
can begin to redefine their roles to better aid undocumented immigrants 
through policy advocacy. This paper will also illustrate the real effects of 
immigration policy on daily social experiences of undocumented immi-
grants, and propose suggestions for incorporating these experiences in 
advocacy to humanize those most affected by immigration policy.

Immigration Policy Creating the Concept of “Undocumented”

 Law is a mechanism that normalizes social sentiment. “Law 
not only reflects society but constitutes it as well…law normalizes and 
naturalizes social relations and helps to structure the most routine prac-
tices of social life” (Ngai, 2004, p. 8). The emotional social climate in a 
particular society informs and influences legality; legal and social forces 



   Columbia Social Work Review, Volume V       35

Stewart

mutually aid each other in creating certain norms. Consequently, law and 
policy influence how American society perceives immigrant groups. The 
creation of the “undocumented immigrant” concept reflects an embedded 
discriminatory aspect of immigration policy (Ngai, 2004). The negative 
social sentiment becomes reinforced in laws and policies that dehuman-
ize undocumented immigrants, inhibiting their social integration.
 The normalization of social sentiment through law can be 
problematic. The possible interpretation of law as independent of social 
forces, even though social meanings constitute law, presents danger. Dis-
associating law from its social origins may cause social constructions to 
become embedded in the daily meanings and routines of social life, and 
the biased, social nature of law may go unrecognized. When the social 
origins of law cease to be recognized, the legal concept of the “undocu-
mented immigrant” becomes understood as the result of law-breaking by 
the individual rather than the result of social construction.
 The combined legal and social exclusion does not necessarily go 
unnoticed by undocumented immigrants. One way they experience ex-
clusion is through unwelcoming social climates at the community, state, 
and national levels in the form of political dialogues in the media. Ongo-
ing debates on the legalization of undocumented immigrants, in which 
undocumented immigrants are unable to participate as representatives 
of their own interests or voice their own experiences, are dehumanizing. 
Other blatant measures of exclusion are laws that openly prohibit undoc-
umented immigrants from legally accessing the workforce, welfare pro-
grams, medical services, and other rights, privileges, and opportunities 
reserved for citizens (Gleeson & Gonzales, 2012). Exclusion undeniably 
shapes the routines and interactions in many undocumented immigrants’ 
daily lives, through political processes that leave out their populations 
and through policies that create barriers to accessing services and claim-
ing their rights.

The Feeling of Being Undocumented

 The ability of undocumented immigrants to feel social belonging 
in American society is largely influenced by the social reactions of their 
communities (Chavez, 1991). Legality is an integral, if unarticulated, 
part of the definition of social belonging for many Americans, and many 
undocumented immigrants are not accepted into their communities in 
part because they do not share legal status (Chavez, 1991). Throughout 



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Undocumented Immigrants and Public Advocacy

the 1980s, Chavez (1991) conducted interviews with undocumented 
immigrants in the San Diego area and found that their local communities 
would draw lines of inclusion and exclusion by constructing and rein-
forcing negative social meanings around undocumented status, utilizing 
dehumanizing language towards this population. Name-calling through 
words such as “wetback” and “illegal alien” reinforced feelings of hos-
tility and reaffirmed the belief that undocumented immigrants were not 
legitimate members of American society (Chavez, 1991). In recent years, 
the deportation of almost two million undocumented immigrants during 
the Obama Administration has further alienated undocumented immi-
grants and torn apart families (Fineman, 2013). In recent years, more 
than 200,000 deported undocumented immigrants reported that they were 
parents to children who are American citizens; many of these children 
live in constant fear of their parents’ deportations (Planas, 2012). The 
identification of undocumented immigrants by one aspect of their person 
that holds negative connotations creates difficulty for communities to 
see immigrants beyond their undocumented status and for immigrants 
to develop a sense of belonging. Oftentimes, undocumented immigrants 
identify their undocumented status as “the reason they did not feel part of 
the community” (Chavez, 1991, p. 272) and acknowledge that although 
they have adapted to an American way of life, they still do not feel as 
though they belong.
 The experience of undocumented children perhaps best demon-
strates how social climate influences feelings of social belonging. Obliv-
ious to the hostile social climate toward undocumented immigrants, 
undocumented children initially have a sense of belonging in American 
society (Chavez, 1991; Gonzales, 2011).  They go to school, participate 
in school-based activities, learn to speak English as part of their public 
presence, and are exposed to popular culture like any other American 
children (Gonzales, 2011). It is not until they are older that they realize 
American society does not recognize them as legitimate members, and 
that it views them as undocumented immigrants rather than Americans 
(Abrego, 2006; Chavez, 1991; Gonzales, 2011). Undocumented youth 
experience a shift from feeling a sense of belonging to feeling alienated 
and marginalized (Abrego, 2006; Chavez, 1991; Gonzales, 2011).
 There are various catalysts that instigate this shift in undocu-
mented youth from feelings of belonging to alienation. The transition is 
often triggered when youth are unable to participate in a coming-of-age 



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Stewart

event that most legal American youth experience, such as acquiring a 
driver’s license, applying for a job, or going to college (Gonzales, 2011). 
Gonzales wrote, “as [undocumented youth] came to grips with the new 
meanings of [undocumented] status, they began to view and define them-
selves differently” (2011, p. 610). After growing up feeling included in 
American society, the realization of the extent of their exclusion can in-
duce shock. Oftentimes, there are two stages of shock (Gonzales, 2011). 
First, the youth experience a multitude of emotions ranging from “con-
fusion, anger, frustration, and despair” (Gonzales, 2011, p. 610), after 
which they feel overwhelmed. The second shock occurs as they realize 
the permanence of the exclusion from society and that nothing, short of 
their legalization, can overcome it. Previous aspirations are lost and the 
future begins to look similar to the lives of their parents, who often try 
to make ends meet in labor-intensive jobs that require little skill and pay 
low wages.

How Legal Status Influences Feelings of Social Belonging

 Not being accepted by their communities denotes the complexity 
of what it means to be part of American society. Social belonging relies 
on legal status as well as on the social constructions around that status. 
These meanings establish alienation experienced by undocumented im-
migrants and can have grave effects on their life experiences. The feeling 
that comes from losing one’s sense of belonging is described by undocu-
mented youth as, “waking up to a nightmare” and being unable to escape 
(Gonzales, 2011). 
 To address feelings like these, and the situation from which they 
arise, America needs a political discourse that accurately illustrates the 
life-altering experience resulting from the social exclusion of undocu-
mented immigrants. A humanizing dialogue that identifies and describes 
these feelings of alienation and brings visibility to the hopelessness of 
undocumented immigrants should inform immigration policy. Policy 
advocacy based on integrating the lived experiences of undocumented 
immigrants holds promise to balance traditional social forces that would 
otherwise reaffirm their marginalized status.



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Undocumented Immigrants and Public Advocacy

Relevance of Social Work to Policy Advocacy

Professionalization of Social Work Inhibits a Progressive Policy 
Agenda

 When the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code 
of Ethics (2008) was established in 1960, it officially held social workers 
responsible for “pursu[ing] social change with and on behalf of vulnera-
ble and oppressed individuals and groups of people.” The historical con-
text of the social work profession and its legal obligation to marginalized 
groups provide an exceptional foundation for social workers to serve as 
policy advocates for the interests of undocumented immigrants. In spite 
of these attributes, the role of social workers as policy advocates has not 
been fully realized.
Abramovitz (1998) has argued that social work as an organized political 
force has become neutralized over time due to its professionalization. 
“Social work [has] often [been] accused…of serving as a handmaiden of 
the status quo” (Abramovitz, 1998, p. 512). Instead of facilitating social 
change, many social workers have perpetuated an oppressive system by 
teaching the oppressed how to manage and live within the system rather 
than create new spaces outside the system, or a new system altogether. 
This professionalization “pressed social work to narrow its vision and 
to play it safe” (Abramovitz, 1998, p. 518). To be considered a more es-
teemed profession, social work has, in some ways, conformed to a market 
economy that requires public and private funders who exert conservative 
influences on the profession, thereby restricting a socially liberal agenda 
(Abramovitz, 1998; Wenocur & Reisch, 1989).
 Additionally, the conservative political climate throughout most 
of the 20th century prevented many progressive social work practices and 
denounced the few practitioners of such practices as “radicals” (Katz, 
1996). In many cases, this prevented the establishment of strong, long-
term, progressive leadership in the social work profession (Katz, 1996). 
Professionalization in this field, however, does not have to continue to 
compromise social justice ideals. Social workers can maintain profession-
al legitimacy and still honor their social activist roots. 



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Stewart

Recommendations for Social Workers

 Social workers practice directly with undocumented immigrants 
and often their citizen children in capacities that address the barriers to 
employment, medical services, food, housing, and other needs (Semple, 
2011). Furthermore, social workers have historically been perceived as 
agents of social justice with a duty to uphold values that “emphasize the 
importance of individual worth and dignity and service to humanity” 
(Bisman, 2004, p. 112; Siporin, 1982). The Code of Ethics shared by all 
social workers serves to provide an ideal foundation for social workers to 
pursue roles as social justice activists. As this profession looks forward 
to its role in the future, it should focus on overcoming oppressive sys-
tems by creating the necessary policy foundation through advocacy that 
establishes a new, humanizing discourse. It must advocate for the voices 
of undocumented immigrants to emerge. With this vision, social work 
should always look back to its history as a profession rooted in social 
activism.
 Based on this underpinning, two specific recommendations 
for actions social workers should take to strengthen their capacities for 
policy advocacy can be made. First, national social work organizations, 
like the NASW, and associated publications should emphasize the history 
of social activism in social work and release statements in response to 
contemporary social issues that reaffirm social justice ideology without 
regard for political reactions (Abramovitz, 1998; Bisman, 2004). Second, 
social workers should develop skills to assert political views that align 
with the values of the profession and embrace policy goals that work 
towards social justice (Abramovitz, 1998). The NASW could organize 
workshops and policy coalitions that develop the necessary skills and or-
ganizational base to visibly advocate for social reform. The great advan-
tage of the social work community is its passion, energy, and willingness 
to actively support social issues. These strengths should be utilized in the 
form of organized social action for policy reforms.
 Within these recommendations, what is most essential is that 
social work, as a professional institution, asserts itself as an entity un-
constrained by political influences that may otherwise divert it from its 
social justice vision. Although social workers will need to openly support 
certain policies and political initiatives, it will always be in the spirit of 
social justice.



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Undocumented Immigrants and Public Advocacy

Conclusion

 Undocumented immigrants report an oppressive social experi-
ence caused by emotional upset and permanent barriers to opportunity 
and fulfillment. These barriers cannot be rectified on an individual basis, 
or negotiated at the micro-level. Only through changes in national policy 
that address the absence of legal status can the marginalization of undoc-
umented immigrants begin to be reversed. The degree to which undoc-
umented immigrants have been alienated through the creation of policy 
based on exclusionary social forces is a lesson that attests to the power of 
social sentiment in policymaking. The key to developing policy that es-
tablishes legal spaces for undocumented immigrants is to humanize them 
by bringing out their social experiences as an empathetic social force.
Social workers, by the nature of their profession, should be an integral 
part of the creation of this humanizing policy dialogue. The progressive 
social values that underlie the social work profession and its emphasis on 
individual human experience, position social workers as ideal advocates 
for undocumented immigrants in the policy arena. By enhancing their 
capacity for policy change, social workers will realign with their activist 
roots. As this profession pushes the boundaries of current social reform 
to achieve social justice, the ideals of social justice will no longer be just 
words that compose a professional creed, but rather values that are lived 
each day through work.

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