NASW Opposes Arizona Immigration Law

The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) strongly opposes the recently enacted Arizona law that will criminalize immigrants, endanger human rights and threaten the civil liberties of citizens and immigrants.  SB1070 allows law enforcement officials in Arizona to stop anyone if a “reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States.” 

This law will undoubtedly increase discrimination and racial profiling as it permits police to apprehend someone based simply on his or her appearance.  Not only will it erode the civil rights of residents of Arizona, but it will also erode public trust in the police and diminish public safety.  Immigrants who are victims of a crime will be less likely to report crime, as victims may now be asked to prove their legal status and subsequently be arrested themselves.

This legislation is of great concern to all social workers committed to the profession's core values of human rights and social justice.  As social work professionals, we are called upon by our Code of Ethics to actively prevent and eliminate discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.

NASW has consistently been at the forefront of the fight for immigrant rights and calls upon its members to voice opposition to Arizona’s new law and support comprehensive immigration reform.  NASW advocates for comprehensive immigration reform that:

1. Promotes social justice and avoids discrimination or profiling on the basis of race, religion, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation or other grounds
2. Ensures that procedures and policies do not indiscriminately target immigrants based on origin, religion, race, or immigration status
3. Ensures due process for all individuals, including immigrants
4. Opposes mandatory reporting of immigration status by health, mental health, social service, education, police and other public service providers
5. Promotes elimination of racism and anti-immigrant discrimination in employment practices
6. Supports the human rights of day laborers
7. Supports humanitarian measures to protect victims of and enforcement to prevent human trafficking
8. Supports families by promoting family reunification and guaranteeing the human services and education needs of all children are met regardless of their or their parent’s legal status.

For more information on NASW’s work on immigration reform, please see the NASW Immigration Policy Toolkit and visit the Immigration and Refugee Resettlement page of the NASW website.