“Immigration Enforcement Is a Daily Part of Our Students’ Lives”: School Social Workers’ Perceptions of Racialized Nested Contexts of Reception for Immigrant Students

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen

Qualitative analysis examines school social workers’ equity work for immigrant students, focusing on their perceptions of immigration enforcement and school climates that either support or hinder immigrant experiences. The study expands understandings of nested contexts of reception and racialized organizations across macro, meso, and micro levels, showing how these shape educational experiences, mobility, and belonging. Using open-ended responses from a national survey dataset, it analyzes how SSW perceptions reflect racial attitudes and influence advocacy, potentially disrupting racial inequality in schools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Background and Problem Statement

Barriers to equity for immigrant students

Immigration enforcement and socioemotional impacts

Theoretical Framework: Nested Contexts of Reception

Macro, meso, and micro racialized contexts

Study Design and Data Source

Open-ended survey responses

Analysis Focus

Racialized organizational contexts and SSW perceptions

Influence on advocacy and disruption of inequality

AERA Open January-December 2022, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 1–15 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584211073170 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2022. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) “Immigration Enforcement Is a Daily Part of Our Students’ Lives”: School Social Workers’ Perceptions of Racialized Nested Contexts of Reception for Immigrant Students Sophia Rodriguez University of Maryland Benjamin J. Roth University of South Carolina Leticia Villarreal Sosa Dominican University This qualitative analysis examines school social workers’ equity work for immigrant students, including their perceptions of immigration enforcement and school climates that support or hinder immigrant student experiences. We conceptually expand understandings of nested contexts of reception and racialized organizations across macro, meso, micro levels, and how they affect immigrant students’ educational experiences, mobility, and belonging. Utilizing open-ended responses from a unique national survey data set, we examine school social workers’perceptions of the macro, meso, micro racialized contexts that immigrant students encounter, how school social worker perceptions reflect racial attitudes as part of the racialized organization of schools in which they work, and how such racial attitudes influence their actions and potentially disrupt racial inequality in schools. Discussion of the impact of school social workers’ racial attitudes, and perceptions of racialized contexts and how they influence school social workers’advocacy for immigrant students is offered. Keywords: contexts of reception, descriptive analysis, equity, immigration/immigrants, mixed-methods, racialization, school social work, sociology, survey research Schools expect immigrant students to adapt to new cultural contexts, learn the U.S. educational system, and attain English proficiency (Hernandez et al., 2009; Ruiz-de-Velasco et al., 2001) . However, many immigrant students, defined here as children with at least one foreign-born parent, experience barriers to educational and social equity. Immigrant students whose legal status is temporary or who are undocumented often have difficulty accessing resources in school (Gonzales, 2015) . Fear and uncertainty associated with immigration enforcement activity negatively affects immigrants’ socioemotional health regardless of immigration status (Ayón, 2016; Capps et al., 2020; Yoshikawa et al., 2017) . Anti-immigrant sentiment combined with restrictive laws compound these barriers by “othering” immigrant students within schools. Living under the uncertainty of racialized anti-immigrant policies and practices creates symbolic and structural violence (Menjívar & Abrego, 2012) . Schools are also a site of racialization where immigrant students are profiled and encounter complex and at times contradictory messages about belonging, identity, and deservingness (Lee et al., 2017; Verma et al., 2017) . Schools, despite many challenges, can be places that mediate some of these challenges. Past research shows how“institutional agents” can support minoritized students, providing necessary assistance when navigating institutions (Stanton-Salazar, 2004, 2011) . Such “agents” are often trusted adults in schools, such as coaches, educators, and mental health professionals. While research has examined the role of educators, to date no study has examined how school social workers (SSWs) help immigrant youth navigate barriers in schools and communities. Research has examined educator advocacy for immigrant students (Crawford, 2018; Dabach, 2015; Rodriguez & McCorkle, 2020) . This research suggests that advocacy increases if actors possess an awareness of how immigration policies, enforcement practices, discrimination, and racism Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distr

FAQs

What does the study examine about school social workers’ work with immigrant students?

It examines school social workers’ equity work and their perceptions of immigration enforcement and school climates that support or hinder immigrant student experiences.

What framework guides the analysis of these perceptions?

The study uses the nested contexts of reception framework to examine how macro, meso, and micro contexts shape SSW awareness and actions.

How does the article link racial attitudes to school social workers’ advocacy?

It argues that SSW perceptions reflect racial attitudes as part of the racialized organization of schools, which in turn influence their actions and may reduce racial inequality.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by McQueen