Immigration and human services: The perils of professionalization

This article addresses two major impediments in delivering social services to immigrant populations. First, the lack of appropriate content related to immigration work in the curriculum of the graduate schools of social work; and secondly, the normative distance between professional providers and recipients of service. We discuss the intrinsic contradictions embodied in those impediments. While the focus of the article is on immigrants in the southwestern United States, the implications are broader. The article is a call for a re-examination of professional standards, norms, and practices in direct work with immigrants.