Trump’s hard, controversial citizenship exam dumped
The Trump administration’s new civics exam for prospective U.S. citizens — longer and more challenging than the old exam, and with a conservative tilt — will have a short shelf life. Four months, to be exact.
The test, given to hundreds of thousands of legal residents each year, was revised Dec. 1 to double the number of questions asked and correct answers required, and to add topics that were more complex and, in some cases, controversial.
One new question asked why the U.S. went to war in Vietnam, with the only accepted answer being, “To stop the spread of communism.” Testtakers can also be asked to identify the authors of the Federalist Papers, a favorite of conservatives (James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, under their
pseudonym “Publius”) and to name five of the original 13 states instead of three.
Asked whom senators and House members represent, respondents now must reply, “The citizens of their state” or of their House district, consistent with former President Donald Trump’s argument that undocumented immigrants should be excluded from census counts that determine congressional representation.
The 128 potential questions and answers are available in advance on a government website. The actual test consists of 20 questions, with 12 right answers needed for passage.
On Monday, however, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the revised exam would be replaced on March 1 by the previous version that had been used since 2008. Those who sign up before March 1 will be given a choice of which test to take, the agency said.
The announcement cited President Biden’s Feb. 2 executive order on “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems.” The order directed federal agencies to reduce fees and other barriers to naturalized citizenship, and called for a “comprehensive review” of requirements such as the civics exam.
So far, the passing rate for those who have taken the new exam is 94% to 95%, said Sharon Rummery, spokeswoman for the federal agency.
The exam is available to about 9 million greencard holders, legal residents who entered the United States by obtaining visas from family members or employers, winning a lottery or being refugees from persecution, and have lived in the country for at least five years.
Those who pass the test and an oral screening on their ability to speak English are eligible to become U.S. citizens. The 843,000 new citizens who passed the exam in 2019 are no longer subject to deportation and have the right to vote, seek federal employment and sponsor relatives living abroad, among other benefits.