A Nation of Immigrants: A Call for a Specialization in Immigrant Well-Being

Abstract

SUMMARY Contemporary challenges serving immigrants and their communities require a reexamination of social services, social work practice, and social work curricula, as millions of people, particularly from non-European countries, have come to the United States in the last 40 years. Social work must develop a new field of specialization that addresses the unique features of the immigrant and refugee experiences and service needs that consider the following: differing world views, values, beliefs, lifestyles, and languages; theories of assimilation and acculturation; immigration and other laws that support or restrict individual and family development; the “hidden” lives of undocumented families; assessment and treatment of survivors of torture and trafficking as well as victims of domestic violence; and the development of community capacity-building partnerships with newcomers and informed advocacy for social protection.