Research Expertise

• Immigration policy and social mobility

• Impact on DACA on undocumented youth

• Immigrant integration

• Services and supports available for Latino immigrants

Background

Professor Benjamin Roth joined the faculty of the College of Social Work in 2013. He is a faculty associate at the University of South Carolina’s Walker Institute of International and Area Studies and a member of the core faculty of the Rule of Law Collaborative. In 2017, he received the Teacher of the Year award from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), South Carolina chapter. The award is presented to an educator who serves as a role model for students and enhances the relationship between social work practice, research and education.
 
Professor Roth’s research is at the intersection of immigration and social stratification, with a focus on youth and barriers to social mobility. With funding from the Spencer Foundation and the W.T. Grant Foundation, he is currently studying the role of school social workers in immigrant-serving schools across the country. In a separate project, he is exploring the role of human service organizations in immigrant communities. This study looks comparatively across states in the Southeast and between different service sectors to better understand the safety net for immigrants. He has recently completed independent research on the Venezuelan migration crisis in Colombia and a project focused on the impact of separating immigrant parents and children at the U.S. border. His publications have been published in journals such as the Journal of the Society for Social Work Research, American Journal of Public Health, New England Journal of Medicine and Ethnic and Racial Studies. His book on DACA (to be published by the University of California Press) is expected in 2022.
 
Roth received his Master of Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.