Overcoming barriers for undocumented immigrants in New Jersey

Everyone deserves the opportunity to build a good life for themselves and their families, no matter where they were born. As the supervising social worker for AFSC’s Immigrant Rights Program in New Jersey, I see firsthand the barriers my undocumented clients face in meeting their basic needs.  

Every year, our social work team helps over 100 individuals and their families get access to food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities. Here are some of the key barriers they face—and what we need to do to address them.    

Exclusion from safety net programs  

Low-income households are often able to access safety net programs to help with basic expenses. Because of their status, undocumented people are excluded from most government benefits, including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Medicaid, or cash assistance.  

They also have a harder time getting stable, living-wage jobs. That leaves many struggling to afford groceries or pay rent, especially in New Jersey, which has one of the highest costs of living in the country.   

AFSC’s New Jersey social work team helps fill these gaps. We educate clients on benefits they may qualify for and conduct extensive outreach to locate food pantries, clothing banks, and other community resources to connect them with.  

Wrongful denial of services  

Even when eligible, immigrants are often wrongfully turned away. That’s when social workers must step in to advocate for clients.  

For example, I have one client in Northern New Jersey who was not a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Resident but did have a qualifying immigration status for SNAP and cash assistance. Despite her eligibility, her application was wrongfully denied due to her immigration status. It took advocacy on my part and reaching out to the New Jersey Department of Human Services to have my client’s application reconsidered and approved.  

Without advocacy, many eligible immigrants are wrongfully denied benefits. Cases like these highlight the need for better training for social service providers.   

Difficulty accessing shelter  

Accessing emergency shelter is especially hard for immigrants who lack identifying documents. In winter 2022, I worked with an undocumented client in South Jersey who was initially denied shelter because of his immigration status.  

While advocating for him, I found out that though he was ineligible for those benefits, he still qualified for access to emergency shelter for at least 30 days. However, he needed to present an ID and proof of residency in the U.S.  

Like many homeless people, he faced challenges in obtaining this needed documentation. Because he had been homeless for months, he could not provide any proof of address. To get an ID, he needed to visit his country’s consulate, but being homeless and unemployed, he could not afford the trip or the fee.   

Fortunately, I was able to connect with local community agencies and local churches to assist. These groups helped my client rent a temporary room at a local boarding house. But his experience reminds us how many immigrants face difficult hurdles in accessing emergency shelter, the most basic of needs.    

Lack of knowledge and difficulty navigating resources  

Many immigrants lack awareness of available resources and struggle to navigate complex processes for assistance.  

AFSC helps fill this knowledge gap by locating resources and advocating for our clients. We also educate other social service providers about these resources. That includes programs like the Social Services for the Homeless (SSH), a program that assists homeless people with emergency food, shelter, and more regardless of their immigration status. With many government safety net programs unavailable to immigrants, programs like SSH and other community resources are critical to our immigrant community.  

Language barriers, lack of transportation, and limited technological access present additional challenges. AFSC’s multilingual staff provide essential language support to help them navigate these obstacles.    

Urgent need for action 

No one should struggle to meet basic needs. To better support undocumented immigrants, we must: 

• Enhance training for social service agencies: The state of New Jersey should require trainings for social service agencies and providers to better understand working with the immigrant population and the complexity of these programs. That includes training on cultural competence and immigration statuses that are eligible for social services. This ensures that individuals are not wrongfully turned away from benefits and programs they qualify for.  
• Increase awareness in immigrant communities: We need more efforts to educate immigrants and social service providers about resources.  
• Foster networking: Social service providers should share information to more effectively assist the immigrant community. 
• Advocate for broader policy changes: Social workers and advocates must demand more measures be taken by the state to address the growing socioeconomic needs of all populations, including undocumented immigrants. New Jersey has made some progress in providing some assistance to immigrants, specifically undocumented children. In January of 2023, New Jersey expanded Medicaid coverage to all income-eligible children under the age of 19, regardless of immigration status. Still, much more must be done. 

My hope is to raise awareness of the hardships undocumented immigrants face in New Jersey and encourage social service providers to collaborate on strategic and creative solutions for these barriers. These challenges faced by undocumented immigrants are not just individual cases. They represent a systemic failure to uphold our values of human dignity and equality.  

By working on both immediate needs and long-term policy changes, we can create a New Jersey that truly welcomes all with dignity and ensures that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.