The spy case that has gripped the media deflected attention from the FBI arrest in Pennsylvania, following a years-long operation, of five Russian men who trafficked Ukrainian nationals into the U.S. more>

Faced with federal and local government budget cuts to English-language programs, immigrant and immigrant-rights organizations agree that the need to know the country's official language increases notably during an economic crisis.

AUDIO :: WNYC's Siddhartha Mitter reported on how the possibility of budget cuts presents a risk to ESL programs more>

Research shows that immigrants who are represented in court by a lawyer are three to four times more likely to win their cases, but in the United States, only 35 percent of immigrants have lawyers. more>

Two years after the opening of a public school that specializes in Arabic culture, New York City awaits the inauguration of a public school dedicated to the Hebrew language, raising the issue of whether a public school should focus on specific cultures. more>

At a recent job fair in NYC, upstate employers tried to draw immigrant doctors on J-1 visas, with glossy flyers with picturesque photographs and descriptions of life in small towns in the state’s Lake Ontario region, along the St. Lawrence River and next to the Adirondack mountains. more>

Seven years have passed since that tragic date whose transcription in American English looks like the phone number to call in an emergency: 9/11. As a social services employee at the Federation of Employment and Guidance Services (FEGS) for almost three years, I helped those who lost their jobs, housing, business or health after the terrorist attacks. more>

The Brooklyn-based Agriprocessors is again in a bind, trying to explain to the U.S. Supreme Court why they can deny their workers the right to unionize based on their undocumented status, when hiring them, in the first place, is illegal. more>

The nearly 40,000 immigrants from Russia and the former Soviet Union in the northern Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties will take a hard look at the two candidates in the Democratic primaries for District 13. Both have strong ties to Georgia. more>

The economic downturn and surging food prices are haunting the poor Russian-American immigrants in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Is food aid enough to provide a safety net? more>

“Why should an illegal immigrant run the risk of being arrested?” Undocumented immigrants now have the opportunity to voluntarily choose deportation. Immigrant rights advocates think the measure won’t be successful, and they might have good reason. more>

New York Legal Assistance Group’s victory for immigrants who have waited years for their citizenship applications to be processed will also have impact on voter participation in November. more>

You will laugh, but the Governor of the Empire State, David Paterson, lives in a rent-stabilized apartment! And although his yearly income exceeds $250,000 the rent on his apartment has still not reached $2,000 per month. He has the right. To look for equity here is simply foolish! more>

According to data from the Migration Policy Institute, close to one million immigrants in the United States, with higher education and permission to work in the country, have not found work that meets their qualifications. more>

Lured by $10,000, young Russians found themselves working long hours and sleeping on bare mattresses. more>

“When we opened our store, this was a Russian neighborhood,” Sasha said. “We had four clerks working behind the counter and still there was a line. I would come home and fall off my feet from exhaustion. Now the young Russians have moved away, and all that remain are the elderly. With their incomes, they are forced to pinch “kopecks.” And the Chinese, the majority of the residents now, are not our clientele.” more>

Thanks to the introduction of new rules requiring both city and private hospitals to provide experienced interpreters for patients and to make various medical forms available in different languages, significant progress has been made since 2006 to help non-English speaking hospital patients. more>

In bad news for immigrant families, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's budget for the upcoming year proposes significant cuts to educational programs, contradicting the warm words he had for immigrants in his recent State of the City address. more>

The City Council of Farmers Branch, a Dallas suburb, voted unanimously to adopt a new ordinance on renting houses or apartments under which future residents must present landlords with special licenses issued by city authorities. If it turns out that the applicant is an illegal immigrant, he will not be able to rent housing. more>

The counterterrorism bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department plans to create a city map showing predominantly Muslim enclaves. According to Deputy Chief and bureau head Michael Downing, these enclaves could become “isolated and susceptible to violent, ideologically-based extremism.” more>

The U.S. investment visa program offers foreign entrepreneurs a green card and the right to become a U.S. citizen in return for their investment in the creation of new jobs in the United States. more>

Critics of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act and U visas are upset. “I would prefer if illegal immigrants who are crime victims and have agreed to testify were granted temporary visas, not visas that lead directly to green cards," said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies. more>

The Dream Act, which would grant legal status to young undocumented high school graduates, is seen as a threat by some. They fear that people granted amnesty under this Act will become legal permanent residents, will file applications for their family members adding to the already long immigration queues. more>

The recent slow flow of illegal immigrants has been attributed, in part, to tighter security measures across the U.S borders, but a whole range of other reasons exists outside of this realm. more>

A recent amendment to New York State election law allows the Russian-speaking immigrant community to participate more fully in the democratic process by providing voting materials printed in Russian. more>

Well-educated, financially independent, ambitious and bilingual, these representatives of the new generation of post-Soviet Jewish immigrants are finally asserting themselves and asking each other questions about who they are, the nature of their culture and its future, what their Jewish faith means to them, and how they fit into the American Jewish landscape. more>

Two years ago the Bush Administration promised to assume the responsibility of paying Social Security pensions to former undocumented immigrants who have become permanent residents or citizens, for the entire time that they worked in the country illegally. The promise has not become law yet, but many who worry about the stability of Social Security are speaking out against the plan. more>

Unlike Latinos and Asians, the large Russian immigrant community has shown little interest in fighting for their rights. But now Russians, Jews, Ukrainians, Georgians and Kazakh immigrants want to form a non-profit organization and fight for their rights. more>

Operators of childcare facilities believe that the new regulations set by the fire safety code in November 2005 are unreasonable, since they do not take the realities of city life into account. more>

Although the demand for English classes for immigrants increasingly exceeds supply, the government has decided to reduce funding for several programs. more>

After the arrest of an undocumented youth in a shooting incident, Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta has stated, "I don't want them here, period." more>

The U.S. government is reluctantly admitting that an estimated five million undocumented immigrants did not enter the country illegally; they just forgot to go home. more>

In the past, highly educated undocumented immigrants came to America and found that few companies would employ their skills. Today, the non-profit Upwardly Global is helping to change that. more>