Thread: New Questions for citizenship test

New questions for citizenship test

December 13, 2006
By Ryan Pagelow
Passing the civics test to become a U.S. citizen will require more than naming the colors of the flag and the 13 original colonies.

Immigrants will have to answer deeper questions about U.S. history and government in a new naturalization exam that will be piloted in 10 cities in the U.S. starting next month.

The 144 new test questions focus on the concepts of democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. Applicants in the pilot cities will have to answer, "What does the judicial branch do?" and explain what "unalienable rights" are.

"We found that the current naturalization exam process lacks standardization and encourages applicants to memorize facts just to pass the test, but that doesn't guarantee that they understand the meaning behind the question," said Emilio Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

While Chicago is not one of the cities in the pilot program, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights in Chicago plans to test the questions during citizenship classes in the area, said Fred Tsao, the coalition's policy director.

"Our overriding concern has been that the test should not become a more daunting obstacle to citizenship than it is now," he said. "Our government should be encouraging citizenship, not putting up higher hurdles."

The range of materials covered by the pilot questions is significantly broader. It includes geography questions about the longest river in United States (Missouri River), the current federal minimum wage ($5.15) and the name of the U.S. president during World War I (Woodrow Wilson).

"Should immigrants need to know these things, especially when many U.S. natives don't know them?" Tsao said.

The immigrant advocacy group is encouraging eligible legal permanent residents to become citizens and has organized citizenship workshops where they can fill out applications, including one last Saturday in Waukegan.

Evening citizenship classes are also held at the center and at Waukegan High School for immigrants primarily from Mexico. About 90 percent of the students pass the current naturalization civics test on their first try, said Maria Elena Jonas, director of the center.

"With the new test I was expecting something worse," she said.

She is going to wait to teach the new questions and answers in the citizenship classes until the final questions are chosen because focusing on one set is difficult enough for immigrants who may have limited schooling in their native language let alone in English.

"For many of them they don't know how to read English," Jonas said. "I give a lot of credit to people who pass the test. They learn how to read and write in English in such a short time."

The test won't change nationwide until 2008, after the 144 questions are whittled down to 100. To pass, applicants will have to verbally answer six of 10 selected questions correctly.

Originally from Nayarit, Mexico, Rafael Miramontes immigrated to the United States 20 years ago and currently lives in Waukegan where he works in landscaping. He has been going to citizenship class three nights a week since October to study for the naturalization test that he will take in the next few months.

"Everything was new," Miramontes said. "I never knew about the flag and the constitution."

Upcoming changes to the test and to the cost of applying for citizenship in the near future influenced his decision to apply for citizenship as soon as he was eligible. But the political debate over immigration reform this past year is his main motivation.

"I want to vote," Miramontes said. "I would like a lot of changes."

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... S2.article

"I want to vote," Miramontes said. "I would like a lot of changes."

I'm sure you would, but unfortunately those changes probably aren't the same changes most American-born citizens would like to see.

Rafael Miramontes immigrated to the United States 20 years ago

"Everything was new," Miramontes said. "I never knew about the flag and the constitution."

After 20 freaking years