Immigration and Social Work: What Every Future MSW Should Know

Immigration and social work meet at a critical juncture: where vulnerable communities need dedicated advocates to fight for their rights and resources.

As described by Dr. Carmen Ortiz Hendricks, former Dean of Social Work at the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, "New immigrants are more likely to live in resource-poor communities, and are isolated from other communities that might offer support and services. Impoverished immigrants have more need to contact public service systems like public hospitals or welfare agencies due to the problems they are experiencing, and frequent contact with these systems makes them more visible at times of greatest risk."¹

Per the International Federation of Social Workers, social work "promotes social change and development, social cohesion and the empowerment and liberation of people."² Making a positive difference in the lives of vulnerable immigrant communities is at the core of the mission and purpose of social work.

Social workers are essential change agents in building equitable communities—making immigration and social work natural partners. Immigrants arriving in unfamiliar systems need advocates who can bridge cultural divides, navigate complex bureaucracies and fight for access to fundamental resources.

The online Master of Social Work (MSW) program from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work prepares committed, engaged and compassionate social workers for practice across all sectors of society. With courses that cover Cultural Diversity and Human Behavior, the online MSW curriculum provides essential training for candidates who aspire to work with vulnerable immigrant populations.

This article looks at the role of social workers in the immigration process and considers how MSW programs help students prepare to work in this critical area of need.

The Role of Social Workers in Immigration

Working with immigrant populations is an important part of social work. Individuals and families who have immigrated often need help navigating legal systems and accessing services and resources in a country that is foreign to them.

Social workers trained in trauma-informed care can offer particular help to immigrants fleeing abuse, war and other violence. Further, social work advocacy for fair and humane immigration policies is informed by an in-depth understanding of exactly how existing systems help or hinder the swift settlement and integration of immigrants into society.

Challenges Faced by Immigrant Communities

Immigrant communities face interconnected challenges that compound over time, creating obstacles to stability and integration.

Linguistic and cultural barriers, for example, can prevent immigrants from fully understanding their environment and actively engaging with society. Further, immigrants may arrive with legal and financial problems, or may develop these challenges over time if they struggle to find work or access necessary resources. Some may also be coping with trauma or mental health issues. Even someone arriving in perfect health, without any language issues, may simply find it difficult to comprehend new systems for accessing education, housing and healthcare.

How MSW Programs Prepare Students for Immigration Work

Programs such as the Wurzweiler online MSW prepare students to work with immigrant populations through a mixture of theory and practice.

As a student in the Wurzweiler program, you’ll work in The Heights, a virtual community where you'll find real-world scenarios and cases to address. The certificate in Gerontology and Palliative Care and the Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC) program are additional opportunities to acquire the skills and knowledge required to help some of the most vulnerable people within immigrant communities.

Further, practicum placements ensure that all students receive essential, hands-on experiences. Our Practicum Education Department maintains partnerships with over 600 practicum placement sites throughout the greater New York area and beyond. This helps ensure that you will be well prepared for practice when you graduate—having gained experience with agencies in your chosen focus area, such as immigration services.

Key Skills for Social Workers Supporting Immigrants

Social work with an immigration focus requires a range of skills and experience almost as varied as the community of immigrants it serves.

Social workers in this country understand the challenging experiences that might commonly affect immigrants in the United States—experiences that, for most individuals, occur only once in a lifetime. Training in counseling and trauma-informed care helps social workers identify when they are dealing with traumatized individuals who have specialized needs. In clinical settings, social workers might be engaged to help patients access the healthcare resources they need. At legal aid organizations, the job might include making arrangements for children to be placed in the care of extended family or friends if their parents are deported or detained.

In all settings, social workers are critical in advocating for underserved communities, wherein people may lack the resources or know-how to petition effectively for the systemic change they need.

Career Opportunities in Immigration-Focused Social Work

An online MSW positions you to make a significant impact across multiple sectors where immigrant advocacy is critical:

• Nonprofit and advocacy organizations: As an example, New York's youth social services center, The Door, specializes in helping young people connect with a range of services from healthcare and housing to legal advice and counseling, addressing a lack of accessible services for young people within the city³
• Legal aid and government agencies: A social worker might join a government agency such as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which hires case management specialists and community relations officers to assess individuals seeking asylum or refugee status, or build relationships with immigrant community groups and leaders
• Clinical roles: In hospitals or community health groups, social workers can help immigrant patients navigate the healthcare system to access resources they need and ensure that their overall mental and emotional needs are being met⁴

The Importance of Advocacy and Policy Change

All over the world, social workers are essential advocates who help immigrants find the resources they need to live a successful life in their new surroundings. This can include coordinating volunteer language classes, as social workers in Munich did when trying to help settle a massive wave of refugees in the 2010s.⁵ It can mean keeping families together, which is the ongoing work of the "Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies" program run by The Bronx Defenders in New York City. Social workers in the program work with pregnant people who are considered at risk of losing their babies to foster care, striving to keep mothers and babies together.⁶

Social workers also see the real-life effects of government policy, and advocate for change by highlighting inadequate or unacceptable practices. For example, in 2025, social worker Olivia Lopez drew attention to the inhumane treatment of immigrant mothers and children at the Karnes County Residential Center in Texas, notifying the media and meeting with a congressional delegation.⁷

Help Build a Stronger and More Humane Society

The Wurzweiler online MSW program prepares graduates for high-impact careers in social work. Our alumni make up a network of more than 7,000 professionals spread across more than 60 countries. The benefits of an advanced qualification in social work are immediately apparent, as 71% of recent online MSW graduates reported they received a pay raise shortly after completing the program. In addition, the online MSW program is designed to protect the flexibility of working professionals who want to combine further education with their ongoing careers.

Based in New York City, where a diverse immigrant population of around three million people live and work, our students have abundant opportunities to gain experience supporting immigrant communities in the real world through practicum placements and in our virtual community, The Heights.

Become an advocate for immigrant communities with a respected, career-focused qualification from one of the leading graduate schools of social work in the US. Contact us directly for a program brochure or explore our admissions requirements online. Schedule a call with one of our admissions outreach advisors, who will walk you through how Wurzweiler's online MSW program prepares social workers for essential work in immigrant communities.