Houston Chronicle by Abigail Hauslohner 7/19/2019
If you were to take the test to become a U.S. citizen tomorrow, you might be asked to name one of five U.S. territories, or two of the rights contained in the Declaration of Independence, or to provide the correct number of amendments to the Constitution.
The naturalization test is a crucial part of an immigrant's journey to becoming an American. And, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, it is meant not just as a measure of U.S. civics knowledge, but also as a reason to study and absorb the principles, values and functions of the U.S. government, including the rights and responsibilities that come with citizenship.
(Question No. 49: What is one responsibility that is only for United States' citizens? Answer: "serve on a jury" or "vote in a federal election.")
The Trump administration is planning to update the test, with a new version slated to debut before the end of President Donald Trump's first term, officials said Friday. A pilot test should be available this fall.
USCIS officials are offering few details about the changes to the test, which was last revised in 2008. Officers who administer the exam now choose as many as 10 questions to ask each applicant from a list of 100 in three categories: American Government, American History and Integrated Civics (geography, symbols and holidays.) The questions are not intended to trip up applicants - they are published and available for all to study.
With the executive branch able to control the test, and with President Trump making it clear that he wants to dramatically change the nation's immigration policies and laws, how the White House approaches new questions or the test's format could become an object of scrutiny.
"Isn't everybody always paranoid that this is used for ulterior purposes?" USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli, an immigration hard-liner and former Virginia Attorney General who Trump appointed last month, said in an interview with The Washington Post on Thursday. "Of course they're going to be sorely disappointed when it just looks like another version of a civics exam. I mean that's pretty much how it's going to look."
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