The article presents the main results of some exploratory research in Turin on immigrant workers and the risks of poverty that they run. It analyses the impact of the economic situation on the living and working conditions of foreigners, showing how in Turin the present economic crisis is compromising the process of social integration in the last decade of many foreigners who had long been in Italy, and were being joined by their families, buying a house, and seeking to set up a stable life. The picture that emerges has many critical points: work conditions have worsened, many jobs have been lost, with people falling back on the black economy, encountering serious difficulties in finding work, and job protection being reduced.only subscribers can see the full article