Trump administration weighs changes to US citizenship test

Citing a Newsweek report on a Department of Homeland Security regulatory agenda, Hindustan Times reported that the Trump administration is weighing a rule that would set new educational standards for the naturalisation test and let outside parties handle some parts of the exam. DHS says the goal is a framework and a standard for citizenship education that promotes what it calls a unified American identity built on the Constitution, US law and the country's founding principles, though it has not said who those outside administrators might be or how a revised process would work.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalised about 818,500 people in fiscal 2024, part of nearly 8 million naturalisations over the past decade, 89.7 percent passed the current test on their first try and 94.4 percent after re-examination. The proposal comes as the Justice Department pursues what it calls its largest coordinated denaturalisation effort, targeting 25 citizens accused of obtaining citizenship through fraud or concealment. DHS plans a formal rulemaking notice in December, followed by public comment.