School of Social Work Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2026

Abstract

Undocumented immigrants in the United States (US) face numerous barriers to accessing services such as healthcare, employment, and social services due to their status. While media and immigration policy focus on the U.S. border states, significant populations of undocumented immigrants exist throughout the U.S. Using qualitative analysis of 20 personal accounts, this study examines their experiences in a Midwestern state through utilizing a strengths-perspective, which emphasizes individual and community assets. Recurrent experiential themes included problems with persistent racism, discrimination, housing, employment, health care, and mental health challenges, while undocumented immigrants demonstrate remarkable resilience. These findings suggest that they can benefit from social workers utilizing a strengths-based approach in their practice to address these unique circumstances of UI clients. Further research and advocacy are needed to strengthen support systems while recognizing individual resilience.

Comments

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

First Page

94

Last Page

117

Publication Title

National Social Science Journal

Download

Included in

Social Work Commons

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.