Facing Migration Policies: Challenges of NGOs in Social Work for Asylum Seekers in France

NGOs in France have a crucial role in applying social policies for asylum seekers. Whether state-funded or relying on volunteering and donations, NGOs’ social workers encounter challenges that reflect the tensions between reception, integration, and rejection within migration policies. Asylum seekers often stand at the symbolic boundary between “desirable” refugees and “undesirable” undocumented migrants. This communication explores the negative effects of migration policies on the quality of social work provided by NGOs. How does social work for asylum seekers differ from other social interventions intended for French nationals? From time constraints and resource limitations to uncertain future and administrative complexity, migration context affects how social work is practiced and what meaning is attributed to this activity. The communication presents the results of a large-scale Ph.D. study conducted across more than 10 French NGOs. Three years of ethnographic observation, 98 interviews, and a questionnaire survey (n = 223) provide a deep analysis of social workers' experiences, ethical dilemmas, and migrants’ perspectives on the quality of the support they receive. The communication concludes with why social intervention for asylum seekers may fail to fulfill its fundamental roles in ensuring rights access and promoting social inclusion. From the perspective of the social attachment theory of Serge Paugam, I will show that deficiency in protection and recognition affects the possibility of social work to build emancipatory social links. Instead, it may contribute to greater mistrust and diminished self-worth that resonates with the broader context of social rejection faced by migrants.