The Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) expresses profound shock and deep concern at the recent escalation in federal immigration enforcement actions, including the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Jeffrey Pretti and Renée Nicole Good by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Keith Porter Jr. in Los Angeles, California. These tragedies, alongside the aggressive tactics used against individuals exercising their First Amendment rights in constitutionally protected lawful protests, have generated nationwide alarm about excessive use of force, erosion of constitutional protections, and the traumatic impact such actions have on communities already living in fear. The resulting harm to civic engagement and public trust, particularly within immigrant communities, demands immediate transparency, accountability, and a reevaluation of enforcement tactics that undermine civil liberties.
As social work researchers and practitioners committed to human rights, human dignity, and social justice, SSWR affirms the following principles and concerns:
Constitutional Rights, Civil Liberties, and Community Well-Being
Every person in the United States, regardless of immigration status, is entitled to fundamental constitutional protections, including due process, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, and protection from excessive use of force. The use of militarized federal immigration enforcement tactics, resulting in civilian deaths and force deployed against lawful protesters, represents a grave violation of these principles. Children and youth from immigrant and mixed-status families, along with other communities from historically marginalized contexts, are subject to these tactics at disproportionate rates. Such dehumanizing and forceful tactics require immediate, independent investigation and accountability.
Beyond the loss of life, these actions have created a pervasive climate of fear that is devastating immigrant communities and families. Children return home from school to find parents detained; families are afraid to leave their homes for work, school, or medical care; and students are missing school due to fear of enforcement activity. Research consistently shows that such aggressive enforcement practices produce severe and lasting mental health consequences, including anxiety, trauma, depression, and long-term psychological harm, particularly for children separated from caregivers, while destabilizing families and eroding trust in public institutions. Immigration enforcement policies and practices that do not consider this empirical base diametrically oppose and severely undermine the decades of scientific evidence on the deleterious consequences of family separation to child and family well-being.
Ethical Obligations of the Social Work Profession
SSWR stands firmly aligned with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, which calls on social workers to promote social justice and human rights, oppose discrimination and institutional oppression and violence, advocate for policies that uphold the dignity and worth of every person, and work to eliminate violence and coercion. We are deeply troubled by enforcement actions that endanger lives, suppress constitutionally protected dissent, and sow fear among immigrants, regardless of legal status, and U.S. citizens alike.
Take Action Now
Social workers and allied professionals have a critical role to play, particularly as Congress votes this week on substantial funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security.
- Policy Advocacy: There is currently a bill that has passed the House of Representatives to increase funding for ICE. Call your U.S. Senators today to urge them not to increase ICE funding. Contact your federal, state, and local representatives to protect our constitutional rights (e.g., rights of immigrants, rights of citizens to document what happens in their communities, due process protections).
- Constitutional Observer Trainings: Participate in and promote observer trainings that prepare community members to monitor and document law enforcement activity to deter rights violations (e.g., Minnesota DFL Constitutional Observer training: https://dfl.org/observers/).
- Know Your Rights Education: Promote and support Know Your Rights trainings, such as those offered by the National Lawyers Guild (https://www.nlg.org/know-your-rights/), to empower individuals and families and prevent rights violations.
- Direct Practice and Community Engagement – Connect with and support organizations in your local area that provide services to immigrants and refugees, including community partners, field agencies and organizations where your graduates are working. Partner with immigrant rights organizations in Minnesota and other states to provide trauma-informed support and services to meet the basic needs (e.g., food, water) of affected families. Facilitate community forums that educate residents about their constitutional rights during encounters with law enforcement.
- Education and Training – Integrate curriculum and continuing education on immigration justice, systemic violence, and ethical practice into social work programs.
- Empirical Resources: Here is a link to well-established lines of social work–engaged research and scholarship—with named studies and authors—that have identified effective approaches to immigration reform and community safety, particularly through the lenses of public safety, trust-building, human rights, and non‑carceral interventions. (Bibliography here)
SSWR stands in solidarity with communities seeking justice, accountability, and the protection of human rights. We call on federal leadership to reevaluate immigration enforcement strategies that harm civilian lives, suppress lawful protest, and undermine constitutional protections. We call for the independent investigation and prosecution of individuals, including ICE and other government employees, participating in illegal actions. Moreover, we urge social workers to continue advocating for a society grounded in safety, dignity, and justice for all.