The Trump administration announced its intention to make changes to the U.S. citizenship test in order to increase its difficulty level.
Donald Trump has consistently emphasized his commitment to a stringent immigration policy.
While he has often expressed support for ICE, his administration is considering measures that could make obtaining American citizenship more challenging.
Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under Trump, stated that the citizenship test was ‘too easy’ and called for revisions.
Edlow pointed out that test-takers could simply memorize the answers, stating, ‘It’s very easy to memorize the answers. I don’t think we’re really complying with the spirit of the law.’
“The test, as it’s laid out right now, it’s not very difficult,” he remarked.
In a conversation with the New York Times, Edlow discussed the potential benefits of revamping the citizenship test.
He stated, “I think it absolutely should be a net positive, and if we’re looking at the people that are coming over, that are especially coming over to advance certain economic agendas that we have and otherwise benefit the national interest — that’s absolutely what we need to be taking care of.”
Prior to 2008, the U.S. citizenship test was relatively random and lacked standardization, a situation that changed during the Bush administration.
That year saw the introduction of a standardized civics test, requiring applicants to correctly answer 6 out of 10 questions selected from a pool of 100.
During Trump’s first term, the test was expanded to include 128 questions, with applicants needing to answer 12 out of 20 correctly.
However, in March 2021, the Biden administration reverted to the earlier format.
USCIS is now expected to reintroduce a test similar to the version implemented in 2020 during Trump’s administration.
Currently, the program targets ‘skilled workers’ exclusively, but reports suggest Edlow would prefer to prioritize individuals with the potential to earn higher wages.
Edlow recognized that some companies exploit the H-1B program to hire foreign workers at lower wages, impacting American workers negatively.
He mentioned, “I really do think that the way H-1B needs to be used, and this is one of my favorite phrases, is to, along with a lot of other parts of immigration, supplement, not supplant, U.S. economy and U.S. businesses and U.S. workers.”