Social Work, Immigration and Asylum

CONTENTS1. History and Context: The impact of immigration control on welfare / 2. The Construction and Reconstruction of Social Work. Beth Humphries, Lancaster University / 3. Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Welfare and Social Work / 4. Dilemmas of Care and Control: The work of an asylum team in a London borough / 5. Immigration is a Social Work Issue / 6. Social Work Intervention: The deconstruction of individuals as a means of gaining a legislative perspective to remain in the United Kingdom / 7. And now it has started to rain: Support and Advocacy with Adult Asylum Seekers in the Voluntary Sector / 8. Social work responses to accompanied asylum-seeking children / 9. 'Not Our Problem': The provision of services to disabled refugees and asylum seekers / 10. Asylum seekers as Offenders and Victims in the Criminal Justice System / 11. A Comparative Analysis of European Resettlement Programmes for Young Separated Refugees / 12. Asylum-Seeker and migrant children in Ireland: Racism, institutional neglect and social work / 13. Conclusion

This publication is both welcome and timely as yet another Asylum and Immigration Bill makes its passage through Parliament. The book has been written specifically for social workers and acknowledges that there is a dearth of literature available in this area to provide practitioners with practical and ethical guidance. One of the book's strengths is that is not afraid to tell it how it is, providing the reader with poignant accounts of the malaise that has crept into social work practice as ethical considerations are swept aside by investigation, rationing, gatekeeping and surveillance. Nevertheless, all is not lost: the writers expound on models of good improved practice and exhort us to reconnect with our campaigning role and engage in much-needed debates about non-compliance. I cannot recommend it highly enough.