House Bill 37 has some severe ethical ramifications with its passing. The passing of House Bill 37 will provide more power to law enforcement and state officials to go to post-secondary institutions in order to obtain information on an undocumented individual. Although private post-secondary institutions are reporting plans to continue to admit DACA students, they will still have to provide confidential information regarding a DACA student should law enforcement provide a signed subpoena. As a social worker, confidentiality is the first rule when working with clients. Undocumented immigrant students and families now have reason to distrust social workers for fear of deportation. Athena’s Warehouse Executive Director, Bee Nguyen, works with young girls every day who are reporting being bullied at school by peers due to their undocumented status and for just being Hispanic. Families are also not reporting crimes against them due to fear of deportation should law enforcement be called to the home.

 

Renita Shannon’s interview stuck out to me the most because in her interview she said that many legislators will vote in favor of House Bill 37 because they are bullied by other legislators and fear losing their position if they do not vote for the bill. This level of bullying exists across the board in politics. Representative Brenda Lopez also discussed the need for policies that actually make a difference. HB 37 is enforcing a law that private post-secondary institutions already follow. If they are subpoenaed to provide information on a student, they already do so. Therefore, the passing of this law will not change the way these institutions work with undocumented students. DACA students are more fearful of deportation due to the passing of this bill and worry about assimilating to their home countries should they be deported.

 

I am highly against the passing of House Bill 37. I believe the sponsoring and passing of this bill is supporting the negative perception of immigrants, undocumented and documented in this country. I believe that President Trump’s administration and executive orders are creating a new version of segregation in the United States. The uneducated and the wealthy who support this anti-immigrant climate believe that undocumented immigrants do not pay taxes or support the U.S. economy when this is clearly not the case. President Donald Trump’s campaign and now presidency is criminalizing immigrants instead of building relationships in order to support all residents in the U.S. to ensure our country is thriving.

 

I do not believe HB 37 will solve the problem of the increase in undocumented immigrants in the United States. I believe the real problem is the wealthy and privileged population wanting to maintain their status and eliminate those that threat this status. Representative Terry England said in his interview that he has sponsored the bill because he wants to uphold the law and that everyone should follow the law whether they agree with it or not. However, these laws mimic Jim Crow laws in that individual in support of the law will overly enforce it in an attempt to protect their self-interests.

 

This bill will create many consequences for undocumented immigrants. However, I view these consequences as intended. Not only will few DACA students be able to attend private post-secondary institutions should school administrators fear a loss of funding, but they fear deportation of themselves and family members. Undocumented students will be limited to a high school diploma, decreasing their chances of a livable wage and contributing more to the U.S. economy. Mental health challenges may increase as students are forced to stay behind while their peer with citizenship go to college and potentially become more successful. Finally, post-secondary institutions, nonprofit organization and advocacy organizations will have an increased demand for services but a decrease in options for their undocumented clients. Post-secondary institution administrators must practice inclusive policies within their school through admissions requirements and on campus policies in order for DACA students to feel supported through this process (Barnhardt, Ramos and Reyes, 2013. p. 22-23). Colleges and universities cannot rely on the federal government to support undocumented students because as Nakano Glenn (2011) states, the federal government is not required under the constitution to guarantee education. This must be advocated for on the state level (p. 10).

 

As a nonprofit worker and friend of people from all over the world, following this bill has been highly stressful for me. Working with high school students, many of which are navigating through the college and scholarship application process, I now struggle with how to encourage our DACA students to advocate for themselves when it seems like the United States is taking steps backwards in immigration report and acceptance of those different from us. It is also important to note that undocumented immigrants are not only from Latin American countries. There are 13,000 undocumented Asians in the state of Georgia. According to Bean, Leach, Brown, Bachmeier and Hipp (2011), Asian immigrants assimilate differently to the U.S. than Latin American immigrants due a higher number of dual family households. As a result, Aisan immigrants are better able to navigate the system and be successful, despite their undocumented status (p. 2). Perez, Espinoza, Ramos, Coronado, and Cortez (2009) report that personal characteristics in resilience including problem-solving skills and high positive expectations are determinants of success for undocumented students. Success and resiliency is also determined by the resources available to students. Women are generally more successful in this area than men (p. 154). This indicates a need for support for DACA students, especially in today’s political climate.

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This process has giving me greater insight into the process of policy making. Before this assignment, I was uninformed about the legislative process and how bill are processed through the House and Senate. I have also gained skills in the advocacy process by speaking to officials and other stakeholders and researching who are the important individuals to speak to about a bill or issue affecting my community.