December 20, 2020
New US citizenship test makes naturalization more difficult for Mass. immigrants
BY Telegram & Gazette
There are already many obstacles to achieving citizenship in the United States and experts say President Donald Trump’s new naturalization test will make the process harder for Massachusetts immigrants.
Earlier this month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began issuing a new version of the citizenship exam that increases the number of questions applicants must prepare to know from 100 to 128. Applicants will be asked 20 of those questions and must get 12 correct, as opposed to the previous standard of asking 10 questions and requiring six to be correct.
The challenges to obtaining citizenship were discussed at “Reducing Barriers to Citizenship,” the third installment of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Coalition’s fall speaker series.
Jessica Chicco, a staff attorney for MIRA, said there are more than 200,000 green card holders in Massachusetts eligible to apply for citizenship. Yet, she said there are many hurdles to becoming a citizen.
“We’ve seen the current administration try to make it even harder for people to take this final step,” she said. “The process can take several months and that timeline has grown even longer during the time of COVID. There’s a 20-page application that is filled with legal jargon and detailed questions that must be filled out and applicants also have to demonstrate a knowledge of English and pass a civics exam.”
Chicco said the new exam makes achieving citizenship more challenging, along with the existing $725 application fee. She said MIRA helps Massachusetts residents submit their citizenship applications, helps those who need to request fee waivers and prepares applicants for their interviews and civics exam.
Delise Ramazani, a University of Massachusetts student and a former MIRA client from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said at the event that getting citizenship helped her feel a sense of protection in the U.S.
“I never thought that I have the opportunity to study or, let alone be in a whole university in a dorm room, like that was just not a dream,” Ramazani said “As soon as we got here I was able to really take off and study hard while my mom also worked really hard to provide us with the materials we needed.”
Ramazani was granted citizenship her second time applying, which she did initially through help at a MIRA event held in Worcester.
That was one of many organizations in Worcester that provide resources for immigrants looking to be granted citizenship or who need other types of support.
The Adult Learning Center is part of Worcester public schools and provides education opportunities for immigration, including English as a second language classes
Jennifer Brunelle, director of the Adult Learning Center, said the program serves about 150 ESL students at different levels in their English education. She said the program also helps find job placements for students.
“The citizen citizenship test is not easy,” she said. “It’s 100 questions, so obviously learning English helps them understand but we also teach them about American culture and American history.”
Brunelle said the center also partners with Catholic Charities Worcester County to run citizenship classes to help immigrants through the process of becoming American citizens.
The Central West Justice Center provides free immigration legal services, including consultations and representation for individuals facing deportation and individuals seeking humanitarian immigration relief.
The organization also provides free representation and consultations for low income and elderly individuals in central and western Massachusetts, said Ellen VanScoyoc, the senior supervising attorney for CWJC’s Immigration Unit.
“In removal proceedings there is no right to government-appointed counsel in the way that there is in some other types of legal proceedings,” VanScoyoc said. “So it’s extremely important that we have nonprofit agencies like Central West Justice Center available to provide representation to families who cannot afford it.
Residents can apply for free civil legal help by calling CWJC’s at (855) 252-5342 or completing an online application.
Steven Kerrigan, president and CEO of the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center that serves residents in Worcester, Framingham and Milford and the surrounding communities of MetroWest and Central Mass., said his organization provides health care services to immigrant communities. Health care services offered include behavioral, primary care, dental and optometry.
Language and cultural barriers can hinder the access to medical care that immigrants get, Kerrigan said.
“We focus such a huge part of our work within the community on making sure we have culturally appropriate care and make sure that we have interpretive services,” he said.
The Kennedy Center also helps patients enroll in health insurance or, if needed, provide care regardless of their ability to pay.
“We understand that these folks are at their most vulnerable time in life,” Kerrigan said. “We want to make sure that we make that transition as smooth as possible.”
Nonprofit CENTRO, based in Worcester, helps provide social services to families in Central Massachusetts. Mayerling De la Rosa, the director of community support and strategic initiatives for CENTRO, said most of the organization’s clients are immigrants and that they have a program to help people with the citizenship application process, including helping translate documents.
De la Rosa said the language barrier for some immigrants can make applying for citizenship especially difficult.
“Just not understanding or not being able to read the documents or accessing the resources available to them,” she said. “Many of them just cannot communicate because they don’t know the language.”
African Community Education aims to assist African refugee and immigrant youth and families in Worcester. The organization is geared toward helping provide educational resources for children and their families, including citizenship classes, school programs, ESL programs and helping parents find jobs.
Kaska Yawo, the executive director of ACE, attended the MIRA discussion. He said increasing the number of possible questions on citizenship will make it harder for people to get citizenship and for families to be together in the U.S.
“The current administration, they’re making things difficult for immigrants who want to become citizens,” Yawo said.
But the agency, in a press release, said it “revised the civics test as part of a decennial update to ensure that it remains an instrument that comprehensively assesses applicants’ knowledge of American history, government and civic values.”
“The revised test includes more questions that test the applicant’s understanding of U.S. history and civics, in line with the statutory requirements, and covers a variety of topics that provide the applicant with more opportunities to learn about the United States as part of the test preparation process.”