Between Compliance and Resistance? Social Work in NGOs with undocumented and marginalized migrants in a right-wing climate in Sweden

Abstract

Since the last elections, in 2022, Sweden's political landscape has undergone significant transformation, marked by the new government's collaboration with the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats. Together, they introduced the "Tidö Agreement" (swed. Tidöavtalet), a policy document which underscores restrictive and rigorous migration policies that have been on the way for the last two decades and would affect undocumented migrants in particular. Globally, right-wing populist forces intend to reinforce power imbalances, inequalities, and intersectional oppression along lines of origin, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and ability. In Sweden, undocumented migrnts face significant societal discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion, exacerbated by a welfare system that ties benefits to residence status and citizenship. This thesis aims to analyze how social worker in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with undocumented and other marginalized migrants, experience the political climate and how they respond to the rise of right-wing populism in Sweden. Given social worker's involvement with oppressed and marginalized groups and its ethical core commitment to human rights and social justice, this issue is of particular significance. The study positions these dynamics within the theoretical framework of global power imbalances in a capitalist system that perpetuate intersecting forms of individual oppression, highlighting the theoretical concepts of citizenship and social exclusion, and outlining critical and anti-opressive practices in social work and resistance theory to shed light on resistance movements and political activism against right-wing policies. As part of a qualitative study, interviews were conducted with social workers from different NGOs in Sweden who are concerned with marginalized and undocumented migrants. The study's findings reveal that the right-wing policy instills fear both among social work professionals and, more critically, to deter migrants. In this challenging environment, the social work profession provides a safety net for undocumented and marginalized migrants even though the operational space of professionals' in NGOs is defined by policies, institutional regulations and financial resources. Moreover, social work seems to play a crucial role in practicing resistance to right-wing forces and advocating for human rights and social justice on behalf of the people affected.