A Trump administration official is overhauling the U.S. citizenship test, citing that it is “just too easy.”
At a conference hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies, which seeks lower levels of immigration, Joseph Edlow, director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), said he was “declaring war on fraud” in the naturalization process.
“Simply put, I want to see the naturalization process returned to where I believe it should have been,” Edlow said. “Frankly, this test is just too easy. Six out of 10 questions right now is what people have to get right.”
Current questions for the test, listed by USCIS, include Who is in charge of the executive branch?, The House of Representatives has how many voting members? and There were 13 original states. Name three.
Edlow did not specify how the test—which tests for civic knowledge and English-language competency—might be revised, but suggested competencies it should gauge.
“We’re looking for attachment to the Constitution. We’re looking for an understanding of the civic responsibility of being a U.S. citizen,” he added. “We’re looking for actual understanding and ability to read and speak and write the English language.”
USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser confirmed to the Daily Beast that the USCIS is “working to overhaul” the test.
“United States citizenship is a privilege. It should not be easy to obtain, and we are certainly not going to give it away. USCIS is working to overhaul the civics test and the entire process to better comport with the letter and spirit of the law; no change is off the table,” Tragesser said in a statement.
“USCIS is working to ensure that only the most qualified applicants receive American citizenship. Americans should be comforted knowing that USCIS is taking seriously it’s responsibility to ensure aliens are being properly vetted and are of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States as our laws demand.”
His remarks come after USCIS said it plans to revive a Bush-era practice of interviewing an applicant’s neighbors and coworkers, according to an August 22 memo.
A 2018 survey from the Institute for Citizens & Scholars estimated that just 36 percent of Americans themselves could pass this multiple-choice part of the exam.
Prosecution for citizenship fraud has historically been rare. According to the National Immigration Forum, between 1990 and 2017, the U.S. averaged just 11 denaturalization cases per year. In Trump’s first term, that average shot up to 42 per year.
Trump has vowed to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in what he said would be “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
Making good on that promise, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has conducted extensive raids across the country over the last eight months, including raids in Los Angeles in June that prompted mass protests. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has set a goal of 3,000 immigration arrests per day.
As of the end of July, ICE had deported nearly 200,000 people, which is on track to be the highest level in a decade, according to a senior Homeland Security official, per CNN. President Barack Obama deported 316,000 people in 2014, the existing record.
Politico reports that the administration is eyeing conducting raids in Boston and Chicago in September.
