Immigrant Heritage Week

From April 14th to April 20th, the New York State Office of Language Access at OGS celebrates Immigrant Heritage Week!  

Observed since 2004, Immigrant Heritage Week highlights a significant moment in New York City’s history: April 17, 1907, the day when 11,000 immigrants – the largest number recorded at the time – entered the U.S. through Ellis Island.  

The NYS Office of Language Access recognizes the invaluable contributions immigrants have made to New York’s social, cultural and economic fabric.  Twenty-three percent of New Yorkers are immigrants (4.5 million) and speak one of the 800 languages found in our state. These languages have further enriched the linguistic diversity that is also made up of languages spoken by people born in the US, like indigenous and sign languages. We celebrate the cultural and linguistic diversity of everyone who calls New York home.  

As a New Yorker, you have the right to access state programs, benefits, and services, no matter what language you speak. You can receive free interpretation services and have important documents translated into many languages, when requesting state benefits or services. To learn more about your language access rights in New York State, visit languageaccess.ny.gov.  

The New York State Office of Language Access. Your Language. Your New York State.

Watch the "Know Your Rights" video, available in the following languages, including English:

American Sign Language
Arabic (العربية)
Bangla (বাংলা)
French (Français)
English
Haitian Creole (Kreyòl Ayisyen)
Italian (Italiano)
Korean (한국어‎)
Polish (Polski‎)
Russian (Русский)
Simplified Chinese (简体中文)
Spanish (Español)
Traditional Chinese (繁體中文)
Urdu (اُردُو)
Yiddish (ייִדיש)