DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

          -  Diagnosis of 1 of the following hematologic malignancies:

               -  Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with or without history of myelodysplastic
                  syndromes, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

                    -  In first complete remission (CR-1) with unfavorable cytogenetics and/or
                       achieved CR-1 after ≥ 1 course of induction therapy

                    -  Secondary or treatment-related AML

                    -  In second or further complete remission

                    -  Relapsed with ≤ 20% blasts in the bone marrow AND no circulating blasts

               -  Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), meeting 1 of the following criteria:

                    -  In CR-1 with unfavorable cytogenetics or elevated WBC at presentation OR
                       failed to achieve CR-1 after ≥ 4 weeks of induction therapy

                    -  In second or further complete remission

                    -  Relapsed with ≤ 20% blasts in the bone marrow AND no circulating blasts

               -  Other acute leukemic variants allowed at the discretion of the principal
                  investigator

               -  Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), meeting 1 of the following criteria:

                    -  In first chronic phase AND refractory to or unable to tolerate imatinib
                       mesylate

                    -  In second or further chronic phase

                    -  In first or second accelerated phase

               -  Myelodysplastic syndromes with intermediate 2- or high-risk International
                  Prognosis Scoring System (IPSS) score, including any of the following:

                    -  Refractory anemia

                    -  Refractory anemia with excess blasts

                    -  Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

               -  Myeloproliferative disorders with poor prognosis, including any of the following:

                    -  Myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia

                         -  No ≥ grade 3 myelofibrosis

                    -  Atypical CML

                    -  Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia

               -  Other clonal hemopathies with an accepted poor prognosis

               -  Multiple myeloma with chromosome 13 abnormalities and/or progression after prior
                  autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT)

               -  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, meeting 1 of the following criteria:

                    -  Primary refractory OR relapsed and refractory disease (less than partial
                       remission)

                    -  Relapsed twice on or after prior chemotherapy

               -  Lymphoma, meeting both of the following criteria:

                    -  Hodgkin's or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in > CR-1 OR failed primary induction

                    -  Chemosensitive disease, defined as > 50% reduction in mass size after the
                       most recent chemotherapy

          -  Must meet ≥ 1 of the following criteria:

               -  Over 45 years of age

               -  Has undergone prior autologous or allogeneic BMT

               -  Charlson^ comorbidity score ≥ 2

          -  Must have a high degree of tumor control (salvage therapy allowed)

          -  At high risk for treatment-related mortality with a myeloablative conditioning regimen

          -  No massive splenomegaly

               -  Patients may become eligible after splenectomy or radiotherapy to the spleen

          -  No 5/6 or 6/6 HLA-matched related donor available

          -  No well-matched (i.e., ≥ 9/10 HLA match by high-resolution typing) unrelated donor
             available

        PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

        Performance status

          -  Not specified

        Life expectancy

          -  Not specified

        Hematopoietic

          -  See Disease Characteristics

        Hepatic

          -  Bilirubin ≤ 2 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

          -  Transaminases ≤ 4 times ULN (unless due to underlying disease)

        Renal

          -  Creatinine clearance ≥ 50 mL/min

        Cardiovascular

          -  Ejection fraction ≥ 30%

        Pulmonary

          -  DCLO ≥ 35%

        Other

          -  Negative pregnancy test

          -  No uncontrolled viral, bacterial, or fungal infection

          -  HIV negative

        PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

        Biologic therapy

          -  See Disease Characteristics

        Chemotherapy

          -  See Disease Characteristics

        Radiotherapy

          -  See Disease Characteristics

        Other

          -  At least 3 months since prior immunosuppressive therapy

          -  At least 10 days since prior salvage therapy for patients not in at least morphologic
             or radiologic complete remission