As a social worker, you should understand some of rights a refugee has under the law of the land and the international refugees' laws. For instance, under Article 33 of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, it spells out clearly that a refugee is supposed not to be returned to his/her mother country where his/her life or freedom may be at risk on account of his/her religion, race, political opinion and nationality. Such are the fundamental laws which a social worker must be keen when handling a refugee (Capps, 2004).
Boundary issues
Boundary issues can sometimes be a difficult subject. One of the roles of a social worker is to work with other stakeholders to ensure that all immigrant found within the borders of a country are taken care of. A social worker has the mandate to recommend to the immigration officers for deportation and can also stop the deportation of a person if there is a reason not to. Therefore, a refugee may seek favors to prevent deportation and this in most instances becomes an ethical issue.
Social policy issues
Countries usually have different social policies. In most countries including the United States of America, anyone found without a valid visa is to be detained until his/her case is resolved. These policies spell out clearly the immigrant's eligibility for federal programs, which include the various benefits provided by the state such as those provided to low income refugees/immigrant, health benefits more so to children and pregnant women irrespective of your...
On the other hand, those not qualified as immigrant are prohibited from seeking or benefiting from public programs such as the variety of safety net services usually offered. There are also those services issued to immigrants without exceptions, they include Medicaid for pregnant mothers and children, breakfast and lunch for school going children and public health immunization and treatment of communicable diseases among others (Balgopal, 2000). But as much as there are those who are exempted and those allowed to benefit from these federal services, issues normally arise when somebody is denied such services for various reasons, and without proper handling, it might cause problem on the social worker handling the case.
Organizational issues
There are various organizations on board offering various services to these refugees. All these organizations offering the same services should link up and offer standardized services so as to avoid issues related to the quality of service given to these refugees/immigrant since all of them are entitled to the same services.
References
National Association of Social Workers. (2009). Immigrants and Refugees. In Social work speaks (8 ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Capps, R., & Passel, J. (2004). Describing immigrant communities. Retrieved January 31, 2012, from www.fcd-us.org/usr_doc/DescribingImmigrant Communitites.pdf
Balgopal, P.R. (2000). Social work practice with immigrants and refugees. New York: Columbia University Press.
