INS Plan Would Drop Exam for Some Aliens

A “significant” portion of amnesty applicants--including those under 16 and over 65 years of age--would be exempt from taking a required English and civics exam under proposed regulations completed this week by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

In addition, those who have completed high school, a high school equivalency course or one year of study in a state-accredited school would be exempt from the exam, which is required of aliens seeking permanent residence under the amnesty program.

The regulations also would exclude applicants who have completed 30 hours of a 100-hour INS-approved course, and they provide for development of a test that applicants may take at independent testing centers instead of the INS exam.

Getting More Through

“We’re interested in getting as many people through the amnesty program as possible,” said William King, director of legalization for the INS Western Region, where most of the proposals originated. In announcing the easing of the educational requirements at a press conference Thursday in Los Angeles, regional officials noted that there are more than a million amnesty applicants in Western states--far more than the public education system can handle.

The INS this week also released textbooks that will form the basis for the exam, immediately triggering complaints from immigrants’ advocates that the books are much too difficult for many unschooled immigrants and resemble the old Southern literacy tests. But the changes in educational requirements were generally lauded.

“These are positive developments,” said Rick Swartz, president of the National Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Forum. “They hopefully demonstrate the kind of flexibility INS will continue to exhibit throughout the balance of the legalization program.”

Although government officials had no estimates on the number of amnesty applicants who would be exempted from taking exams under the proposed regulations, King said he expected it to be “significant.” Anyone may exempt himself, he noted, merely by taking the minimum 30-hour course.

‘Fly-by-Night’ Schools

But officials cautioned amnesty applicants to be wary of “fly-by-night” schools that are cropping up in immigrant communities and offering English classes that supposedly satisfy the INS exam requirement. Los Angeles District Director Ernest Gustafson noted that the INS has not yet certified any schools to teach the courses. He suggested that applicants who wish to get started go to their public school systems, since the INS plans to retroactively certify them to teach the courses.

The proposed regulations have been sent to the Office of Management and Budget for final approval and are expected to be published in the Federal Register by the end of the month, officials said. After publication, there is a 30-day period of public comment before the regulations take effect.

The tests are part of the second step toward citizenship for illegal aliens who applied for legal residency in the amnesty program that ended in May. Unlike regular immigrants, amnesty recipients are denied most public services and must pass an exam to gain permanent residency. Such exams are required of regular immigrants only when they seek citizenship.

After spending 18 months in temporary residence status, amnesty applicants have one year in which to demonstrate their citizenship skills. Under the program’s second phase, applicants must also pay a fee which has yet to be determined. Officials estimate it may be up to $100.

Congress decreed that amnesty applicants must show that they have a “minimal understanding of ordinary English and a knowledge and understanding of the history and government of the United States.” If they do not, they must show that they are “satisfactorily pursuing a course of study” to gain the knowledge.

The INS textbooks will be used in testing an applicant’s knowledge of the history and structure of the U.S. government, as well as state and local government.

Books Available

In many cases, the books will be used by instructors who help the applicants prepare for the tests, which will begin in November. However, the books will be available to anyone through government bookstores and public schools.

The texts touch upon myriad facets of American life, including the three branches of the federal government, wars involving the United States, labor unions, immigration and civil rights. The test items range from relatively simple questions, such as, “How many original colonies were there?” to difficult ones, such as, “List two differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.”

Officials were vague as to the standards for grading the tests but stressed they will not go out of their way to fail applicants.

Basic Understanding

“Most examiners will ask about 10 questions,” said Thomas E. Cook, senior immigration examiner at INS. “What we’re looking for is that you have a basic understanding of how the government of the United States works.”

But Gilbert Paul Carrasco of the U.S. Catholic Conference said the texts go “far beyond what is useful for students.” Carrasco is leading an effort to devise an alternative set of materials for tests that he said would “boil down” information “to fundamental concepts” that the 1986 immigration law intended.

“This isn’t like just any test you take in school,” said Martha Jimenez of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, noting that if amnesty applicants fail to qualify for permanent residency in the year after they become eligible, they will be illegal and will be at risk of deportation.

High Hurdles

Jimenez compared the text materials and amnesty fee to literacy tests and poll taxes that were once used to prevent minorities from voting.

Lee May reported from Washington and Marita Hernandez from Los Angeles.

QUESTIONS FOR IMMIGRANTS

These are sample questions taken from INS textbooks--which some immigrants’ advocates maintain are too difficult for amnesty applicants--which will be the basis for exams to determine whether an immigrant may remain in the United States:

1. Why is there a vice president?

2. Why is Congress called a bicameral legislature?

3. Did the Axis countries or the Allies win World War II?

4. Name one invention which helped bring about industrialization.

5. What was the purpose of the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1783?

6. Name one result of the War of 1812.

The INS did not provide answers to these questions, but here are some of those that might be regarded as correct: 1. To provide a successor in the event of the President’s death.

2. Because it has two legislative chambers.

3. The Allies.

4. A good many inventions might be mentioned, among them the steam engine, the spinning jenny and the cotton gin; then, a little later, the railway and the steamboat.

5. It ended the American Revolution, recognizing American independence.

6. The treaty restored relations between the U.S. and Britain to the status quo; it also curbed the power of Indian tribes in the northwestern part of the new nation and in the South, and it paved the way for the purchase of Florida from Spain.