Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights: New Citizenship Test: Final Brick in the Second Wall
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2007
1:46 PM
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CONTACT: Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
Fred Tsao, 312.332.7360 x213 (w)
773 251-7476 (c)
Karla Avila, 312.332.7360 x215 (w)
773 627-3012 (c)
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New Citizenship Test: Final Brick in the Second Wall
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CHICAGO - September 28 - The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR)
is deeply disappointed with the new citizenship test announced by US
Citizenship and Immigration Services today. ICIRR has been involved with
the redesign of the citizenship test almost since it began in 2001.
Throughout this process, our overriding concern has been that the test
should not become a more daunting obstacle to citizenship than it is
now. Would this new test, combined with the steep increases in
citizenship and other immigration fees that took effect in July, create
a “second wall” that would keep legal immigrants from becoming citizens?
This test, unfortunately, will impose a much steeper knowledge load on
citizenship applicants, and will force citizenship teachers will also
face the challenge of covering more material in what are often already
crammed lesson plans. ICIRR had hoped that through its piloting process
and other consultation, USCIS would eliminate the more abstract and more
irrelevant questions from the list it proposed last November.
Unfortunately, that list has not been improved, and questions such as
“What is the rule of law?” and “Who was President during World War I?”
are still there. We question how fair it is to require new citizens to
answer these questions, which many native-born Americans would find
difficult.
The new test will be implemented only for applicants who file after
October 1, 2008. Anyone filing before then and interviewed before
October 1, 2009, will still be able to take the current test. During the
next year, it will be crucial that USCIS get the word out to immigrant
communities about the new questions, and provide effective educational
materials for immigrants who want to study for them.
The agency must also train its citizenship officers thoroughly on how to
administer this new test. In particular, USCIS must be trained to be
sensitive to older and less literate applicants who have struggled to
learn English and the new test questions, yet love America and deeply
want to become US citizens.
In the meantime, we encourage everyone who is now eligible to become a
citizen to apply NOW, before the test changes. ICIRR administers the New
Americans Initiative, a partnership with the State of Illinois to assist
immigrants in applying for citizenship. For information about upcoming
NAI workshops, please visit www.becomeacitizennow.org. Don’t delay—*_become a citizen now_*!
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is a statewide
coalition of 130 organizations dedicated to promoting the rights of
immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic,
cultural, social, and political life of our diverse society.
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