Department of Social Work, George Mason University, Arlington, VA 22001, USA.
Soc Work. 2010 Jan;55(1):74-81. doi: 10.1093/sw/55.1.74.
Using semistructured interviews and participant observation, this two-year pilot study of male Mexican migrants in Freehold, New Jersey, explored how day laborers perceive their struggles to support families despite escalating anti-immigrant legislation at virtually all levels of government. In particular, the author looks at efforts by Mexican migrants to contest characterizations of them as "illegal", a term that has clear connotations of criminality, and to distance themselves from others who commit crimes. Migrants questioned the moral legitimacy of U.S. immigration laws, an indicator that vigorous legal efforts to thwart their arrival could prove fruitless.This finding is critical for social work, which must find the means to serve this vulnerable population.
本项为期两年的试点研究以新泽西州弗里霍尔德的墨西哥男性移民为对象，采用半结构化访谈和参与式观察的方法，探讨了季节工如何在各级政府几乎都在不断强化反移民立法的情况下，努力养家糊口。特别是，作者考察了墨西哥移民对将他们描述为“非法”的做法的看法，因为“非法”一词明显带有犯罪的含义，他们试图反驳这种说法，并与犯罪者划清界限。移民对美国移民法的道德合法性提出质疑，这表明，通过大力采取法律手段阻止他们入境可能不会奏效。这一发现对社会工作至关重要，因为社会工作必须找到为这一弱势群体服务的途径。
