Question:
To Report or Not? A number of undocumented immigrants recently showed up at the Evergreen Family Social Service Resource Center. The majority of the agency's funds come from state revenues and taxpayers. The immigrants have serious financial, food, and housing needs and are typically under great stress. There are laws that demand that workers report undocumented immigrants to immigration authorities. The agency supervisors inform the workers that if one is working with an immigrant family and some members of the family do not have Social Security numbers, they should not be reported to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services as it would be detrimental to the helping relationship. Rosa Martinez is a legal resident, but her husband is an undocumented immigrant. Their three children are U.S. citizens because they were born in the United States. Several workers in the agency disagree with the agency's policy to ignore the law. What should a social worker do? On the one hand, social workers are to obey the law.