Provider's perspectives on the effects of anti-immigration laws on undocumented Latino immigrants

Project (M.S.W., Social Work)--California State University, Sacramento, 2014.The purpose of this study is to explore the effects that the current U.S. anti-immigration laws have on the undocumented Latino immigrant population through the provider???s perspectives. This qualitative exploratory approach uses conflict theory to analyze the emergent themes associated with the results of this study. Phenomenological content analysis using latent and manifest coding was applied to the interviews. A total of 12 service providers were selected through a non-probability purposive, snowball and quota sampling designs from these professions: Priests, Social Workers, Police Officers, School Teachers, Immigration Lawyers, Community Organizers, Labor Contractors, and Paralegals. Four themes emerged: 1) lack of effectiveness of the current U.S. immigration system; 2) destruction of the family unit due to deportations; 3) creation of fear due to the legal status of the population; and 4) the benefits of an immigration reform. Implications for social work practice and policy are discussed.Social Wor