The Department of Homeland Security frequently fails to follow up on leads that foreign visitors have overstayed their visas, according to a new report. Of the 301,046 leads on possible visa violators reported to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in 2004, only 4,164 cases were formally pursued, resulting in just 671 apprehensions. The visa overstay population in the United States is now estimated at 3.6 million.

President George Bush once again urged Congress to adopt a temporary-worker program that would allow some undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States for as long as six years. The plan was first proposed in January 2004, but it has run into resistance. Critics argued that allowing more immigrants to compete in the job market will drag down wages.

However, a new study shows immigration in the 1990s actually increased the average wage of American-born workers by 2.7 percent. The study also said that immigrants do not always compete for the same jobs as American-born workers."The two groups are not 'perfect substitutes' even when they have similar education and the same occupation. A Chinese cook is not the same as a Texas barbecue chef."

If immigrants' effect on the economy is a subject of dispute, their increasing political clout is clear, at least in New York City. Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched his re-election campaign with a commercial in which he speaks in Spanish, and ended it with ones in which he speaks Chinese, Korean and Russian."It's especially appealing to the people of the older generation," said Justin Yu, of The World Journal, a Chinese newspaper. "They really feel they connected with him because he's using the same language."

The following stories -- translated into English from the Bengali, Chinese, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Urdu press via our partner, Voices That Must Be Heard -- can be access through The Citizen.

Transporting Illegal Immigrants
From Hoy
Greyhound bus is implementing a policy that prohibits its employees from selling tickets to undocumented immigrants.

Imam Resigns From the Police Department over 9/11
From Muslims Weekly
An imam slated to be sworn in as a Fire Department of New York chaplain resigned last week because he doubted the U.S. government's official story blaming 19 hijackers for the events of September 11, 2001.

Day labor Center in Flushing
From World Journal
Although some companies are still taking a wait-and-see attitude, many business owners support the creation of the day-labor center.

The Unemployed
From World Journal
The latest homicide case in Chinatown tells of the disappointment, desperation, pain and suffering of unemployed immigrants.

Without Insurance
From Hoy
New study reveals that people who are poor or without insurance are taken to public hospitals, even when the facility closest to their residence is a private one.

Are We Good Neighbors?
From Russian Bazaar
A letter to the editor wonders how people view Russian immigrants.

Lottery Visa
From Irish Echo
Applying to the lottery has become an entirely online process, leading to an explosion of Web sites that offer to help people with their applications for a fee.