The Trump Administration Announces Major Changes to U.S. Citizenship Test

The government has unveiled substantial changes to the US naturalization civics test, announcing a return to more rigorous standards for prospective citizens.

These updates, effective for applicants filing after mid-October, are intended to ensure a deeper understanding of American history, government, and civic values, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Expanded and More Challenging Content

The revised test, as outlined in the Federal Register notice , seeks to modernize and strengthen the assessment of civics knowledge.

Officials state that the new questions, format, and evaluation criteria are designed to challenge applicants to demonstrate not just rotate memorization, but a deeper conceptual understanding of core American values, historical turning points, and the structure of government authorities.

The revised test increases the pool of possible questions from 100 to 128, reintroducing updates first implemented in 2020 and rolled back during the previous administration. Applicants now face 20 questions, of which they must answer at least 12 correctly, compared to answering 6 out of 10 in the previous version.

The test remains an oral exam, with a wide range of topics including the Constitution, significant wars, influential figures such as Thomas Jefferson, and examples of American innovation.

Notably, the passing score is unchanged, but administrators can stop the exam after 12 correct or 9 incorrect answers, streamlining the process while maintaining rigor. Most applicants will take the exam in English, although some exceptions exist for older, long-term residents.

New Vetting and Character Assessment Standards

Alongside changes to the test content, the administration is implementing stricter criteria for evaluating applicants’ moral character and societal contributions. Guidance to USCIS officers now instructs them to consider a broader range of behaviors and revives neighborhood investigations to help verify eligibility.

Additionally, the agency has clarified that any involvement in illegal voting, illegal registration, or false citizenship claims will disqualify applicants from meeting good moral character requirements.

Rationale and Broader Context

USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser stated that “ American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values ​​and principles as a nation,” and that the changes are designed “to ensure only those aliens who meet all eligibility requirements, including the ability to read, write, and speak English and understand US government and civics, are able to naturalize.”

He framed the move as promoting full assimilation and strengthening the integrity of American citizenship, calling these “critical changes… the first of many” planned under the current administration.

This announcement has sparked renewed debate in political and civic circles over the balance between making the citizenship process demanding and ensuring it remains fair and accessible.

“You don’t get Hitler because of Hitler — there are always potential Hitlers hanging around. You get Hitler because of Weimar, and you get Weimar because the people in charge of maintaining liberal democracy are too weak and corrupt to do the job.” – Glenn Reynolds

Every Democrat that opens their mouth and says a single thing about free speech needs to watch a video montage of themselves being complete and total hypocrites.
I would like to point out that the last person in that montage is a sitting United States Supreme Court justice, who does not understand that the first amendment is supposed to hamstring the government from restricting the free speech rights of American citizens. – Insurrection Barbie

 

 

The whole of the Bill of Rights is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals. It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of.
— Albert Gallatin 1789

Machete-wielding robber shot dead at Jasper County barbershop

A man was killed in an apparent self-defense shooting as he tried to rob an employee at a Ridgeland barbershop Thursday morning, according to police.

The person who shot him and three others inside the Main Street business were uninjured.

The suspected robber, identified as 55-year-old Ridgeland resident Curtis Edward Scott, was fatally shot by an employee of Jay’s Barber Shop after entering the business through the back door around 10:30 a.m., wearing a ski mask and carrying a machete.

As Scott appeared to raise the machete, one barber grabbed his pistol and fired one round that struck Scott in the chest, according to the Ridgeland Police Department.

Scott fled out the back exit but collapsed beside his vehicle that was parked behind the building, said Lt. Daniel Litchfield of the RPD. He was pronounced dead shortly after.

The shooting seemed to be an act of self-defense based on officers’ initial findings, Litchfield said, although the circumstances of the incident remained under investigation. Police obtained the barbershop’s surveillance footage and interviewed the four witnesses, including one customer, who all provided similar accounts of the incident.

Florida bill would allow armed volunteers to protect churches, synagogues, mosques
Sen. Don Gaetz said he ‘hoped (the bill) would never have been necessary.’

It’s rare when Sen. Don Gaetz says he filed a bill that he “hoped would never have been necessary.”

“But pastors in my area came to me with the request that I help them,” said Gaetz, R-Niceville, of Senate Bill 52.

The bill he spoke of, entitled “Security Services at Places of Worship,” would provide an exemption from licensure requirements for certain volunteers who provide armed security for places of worship.

“I hope the bill will help in assisting churches who feel like they have to protect themselves and their parishioners,” Gaetz said.

Here’s why: A string of recent shootings across the country and a major Florida court ruling on gun rights have reignited the national debate over firearms.

Recently in late August, two children were killed and and 17 people, including 14 children, were wounded after a shooter opened fire at a Catholic church in Minneapolis.

And last week, on the same day conservative activist Charlie Kirk was killed at an event at a Utah university, two teenagers were wounded after a 16-year-old student fired shots inside his Colorado high school. He later killed himself as authorities confronted him outside.

In Florida, the state’s 1st District Court of Appeal declared unconstitutional  a state law that bans the open carrying of firearms. A three-judge panel said the ban was incompatible with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of Sept. 18, there have been 305 mass shootings in 2025.

Gaetz’s bill will allow volunteers who meet certain requirements to provide security for places of worship if the security plan is approved by the local sheriff’s office; the volunteer has a valid Florida concealed carry permit and does not receive compensation for the security work; and if they pass a level 2 background check.

A level 2 background check is a state and federal-level fingerprint-based check, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The bill language says “place of worship” but also includes the words “church, mosque, or synagogue.”

“I was approached by Protestant ministers,” Gaetz said, adding that he has not spoken to Roman Catholic clergy, imams or rabbis.

But “I took the liberty of defining a house of worship in a way that would include all denominations,” he explained.

Antisemitic incidents in the United States have increased in the past couple of years, according to the Anti-Defamation League. In 2024, these incidents rose for the fourth consecutive year, reaching 9,354 total incidents, the highest level ever recorded in 45 years of record keeping.

There will be a companion bill in the Florida House, Gaetz said, and he expects it to be filed in the coming days. The 2026 legislative session convenes Jan. 13, and committee weeks begin Oct. 6.

If passed, the measure will take effect on July 1, 2026.

I’ll append a quote:
“The Second Amendment is a doomsday provision, one designed for those exceptionally rare circumstances where all other rights have failed — where the government refuses to stand for re-election and silences those who protest; where courts have lost the courage to oppose, or can find no one to enforce their decrees. However improbable these contingencies may seem today, facing them unprepared is a mistake a free people get to make only once”
-Senior Chief Judge of the 9th Circuit, Alex Kozinski

Charlie Kirk was Right About the Second Amendment, Remember His Words

When Charlie Kirk was asked about the Second Amendment in April 2023, just days after the Nashville school shooting, he didn’t give a watered-down, politically safe answer. He spoke plainly, and what he said is now being ripped out of context in the wake of his assassination.

Gun-control activists, the media, and opportunistic politicians are seizing on fragments of his response, painting Kirk as an “extremist” who glorified gun deaths. But if you look at the full exchange, a different picture emerges—one of honesty, clarity, and a willingness to say what most politicians are too cowardly to admit.