A top immigration official in the Trump administration announced plans to make the U.S. citizenship test more challenging, saying the current version is “just too easy” and vowing to “declare war on fraud.”
Speaking Thursday at a Washington, D.C. event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow argued that the exam should better reflect an applicant’s “attachment to the Constitution.”
“Simply put, I want to see the naturalization process returned to where I believe it should have been … based on what the Congress has said, based on what the statute says,” Edlow said, according to Mediaite.
“We’re looking for attachment to the Constitution. We’re looking for an understanding of the civic responsibility of being a U.S. citizen. We’re looking for actual understanding and ability to read and speak and write the English language; and, frankly, this test is just too easy. Six out of 10 questions right now is what people have to get right,” he continued.
Edlow noted that he has spoken to staff around the country and has been troubled by their feedback.
“They’re worried, and they’re looking forward to it,” he said. “They’re thanking me for doing what I’m doing, which pretty much all this comes down to is I am declaring war on fraud. I am declaring war on anyone that is coming to this country and wants to get a benefit but doesn’t want the responsibility of what it means to actually be a U.S. citizen.”
The possible changes mark the latest step by President Donald Trump’s administration to place stricter requirements on those applying for citizenship. Just last week, USCIS announced it would again begin interviewing neighbors and coworkers of applicants, a practice that had not been used since the administration of President George H.W. Bush.
Edlow emphasized that he doesn’t want the exam to be “so hard that it’s impossible” except for the highly educated, but insisted the test must be more rigorous. He suggested that applicants might be required to write an essay on the meaning of American citizenship and hinted that a more uniform format could be introduced going forward.
I was born here but i dont think i would he able to pass the test
I took the test and “its easy” its multilabel choice, writing and read. but its not that simple i had to study 150 questions because you don’t know which one you are going to be ask about. Majority of American would fail most like. I went to school hear since kindergarten – high school and majority of the questions I didn’t know