Injustice in Our Midst: Awareness of Discrimination Against Undocumented Youth Among Undergraduate Social Work Students in Georgia

BACKGROUND: The University System of Georgia’s educational policies are set by the State Board of Regents, composed of 19 members appointed by Georgia’s Governor. In 2010, the Regents passed a policy barring undocumented students from attending the State’s top 5 public universities, joining South Carolina and Alabama as the only states to ban undocumented students from university. Undocumented students—even those who grew up in Georgia—are eligible for admission at smaller state schools and technical colleges, but they must pay out-of-state tuition and are ineligible for federal or state financial aid. Students who hold Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) status are able to work and drive legally in Georgia, but under the ban, they cannot attend Georgia’s top 5 universities or pay in-state tuition at any Georgia public university.

In response to the ban, in 2016, the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Georgia Chapter called on social workers to protest policies that “blatantly discriminate against undocumented students,” and to challenge this social injustice as we are called to do in our Code of Ethics (NASW Georgia, 2016). In response to the Regents’ policies and to the NASW call for action, researchers investigated the knowledge and attitudes about immigration and education among undergraduate social work majors at a large Georgia public university that specifically denies entrance to undocumented and DACAmented students.

METHODS: A survey was created to assess students’ knowledge and attitudes related to undocumented students, DACA, and college admission. These items, along with demographic items, were entered in Qualtrics survey software and distributed via email to undergraduate students enrolled in the university’s social work program (n=175), of whom 48 (27.4%) returned usable surveys. The University’s Institutional Review Board approved the study.

RESULTS:  This sample, which reflects the university’s social work population, was predominantly female (83.3%) and white (87.5%). Students generally reflected social work ethics in their responses: 75% of respondents strongly agreed that “all kids who grow up in Georgia should have the right to attend the best public college or university that they are academically qualified to attend,” 75% agreed that “every qualified person should have equal access to public education at any level,” and 83.3% agreed that the university was “segregated” due to its denial of admission to undocumented students. Students’ knowledge was incomplete: 16.7% were unaware that undocumented students could attend public high schools; 29.2% were unaware that students with DACA can legally work and drive cars; and 37.0% believed that DACA students were already eligible for admission at all Georgia universities.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: Students’ opinions were largely reflective of social work ethics, but their knowledge was incomplete. Students’ limited knowledge about this injustice in their midst leaves them ill-equipped to speak out on behalf of undocumented students, as is required by social work ethics. Social work education must better educate students about injustice and encourage activism in line with social work ethics.

NASW, Georgia Chapter. (2016). NASWGA’s Position Statement
Georgia Regents’ Policies 4.1.6 and 4.3.4. Atlanta, GA: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.socialworkblog.org/wp-content/uploads/NASW-Georgia-Chapter-Position-on-Georgia-Regents-Policies.pdf