National Association of Social Workers

Social Workers Fighting for Safe Borders

Safety Sought From the Elements, Vigilante Border Guards

Responding to human rights abuses is part of the responsibility of social workers.

By Lyn Stoesen, News Staff

John Michael Yanson

While immigration has always been an intrinsic part of domestic politics in the United States, the issue has heated up in recent years with heightened border restrictions and the advent of vigilante border guards. In response, humanitarian groups have stepped up efforts to prevent the unnecessary deaths of border crossers, and social workers are playing an important role in that work.

A complex issue. A recent poll conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News shows that Americans are conflicted on the issue of immigration. The poll "found Americans alarmed by the federal government's failure to do more to block the flow of illegal immigration and critical of the impact of illegal immigration on the country but receptive to the aspirations of undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States," the Post reported on Jan. 2.

The poll found that three in five Americans believe undocumented workers should be given the opportunity to keep their jobs and eventually apply for legal status in the United States.

Carol Stambaugh, executive director of NASW's Arizona Chapter, said that in her state, immigration is "a complicated political issue." She said she believes some of the vigilante action is taking place "because there are people who are frustrated. They're saying no one else is protecting their land, so they will."

Leticia Diaz, NASW senior policy adviser in the Department of Human Rights and International Affairs, acknowledged that "immigration is historically a complex issue." Throughout the nation's history, she said, immigration and the place of immigrants within society has time and again flared up as an emotionally volatile question.

Diaz noted that many of the concerns about immigration are related to the country's economy and worries that immigrants are taking jobs from citizens. Many businesses, however, including agriculture and the service industries, rely on the cheap labor that immigrants — some of them undocumented — are able to provide. "Undocumented immigrants actually help the United States stay economically competitive," Diaz explained.

But she also pointed out that opposition to Mexican border crossers also has a racial element. "Eastern European immigrants, many of whom are also undocumented, don't get the same attention," Diaz said. "It's with regard to low-income, dark-skinned immigrants that big problems are created.

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From February 2006 NASW News. © 2006 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.