Dramatic federal immigration policy proposals and executive actions appear to be a reaction to state and local governments that have taken leadership in responding to immigration. Some local governments have endorsed welcoming immigrants to stabilize high-poverty urban neighborhoods and to enhance regional economic development. Others embrace immigrant incorporation consistent with the social work grand challenge to achieve equal opportunity and justice.
A recent issue of the journal Social Work Research, co-published by Oxford University Press and NASW Press, includes an article that highlights research into this concern.
This research estimates the number of immigrant-friendly cities and counties in the United States. To generate this estimate, authors prepared a local government policy scan of all municipalities and counties in the United States with a population of more than 500 persons to identify policies designed to recruit or specifically serve immigrants. Authors also categorized these immigrant-friendly policies on a continuum ranging from rhetoric to outreach, integration, and facilitation.
Only 7% of cities and 6% of counties were found to have immigrant-friendly policy. However, when taking population into account, nearly half of all people in the municipal sample live in a place with an immigrant-friendly policy. The article concludes with the discussion of the implications for social policy and social work practice.
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The authors:
- Richard J. Smith, PhD, MFA, MSW, professor, School of Social Work, Wayne State University
- Catherine Schmitt-Sands, PhD, senior lecturer of global supply chain management, Mike Ilitch School of Business, Wayne State University.
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