‘Speak English, period’: GOP bill axes interpreter loophole in citizenship exam

FIRST ON FOX: People who are not proficient in English could be shut out of taking the U.S. citizenship test under a new House Republican proposal.

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., plans to introduce a bill that would mandate the citizenship test be taken entirely in English, Fox News Digital has learned.

There are several different components to the U.S. citizenship exam. While most portions are English-only, the civics test — in which the applicant is asked 10 out of 100 possible questions on U.S. history and government — can currently be taken in other languages, provided that certain criteria are met.

Fine’s bill would eliminate those exceptions.

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“The fact that U.S. citizenship applicants can currently use an interpreter to take the naturalization test undermines the idea of assimilation into American culture. If you want to live in an English-speaking country, you should be able to speak English, period,” Fine told Fox News Digital.

“My bill will require all applicants to take the naturalization test exclusively in English, because both metaphorically and literally, everyone who enters our country with the intent of staying should speak our language.”

Current law states that people aged 50 or older who have lived in the U.S. as a permanent resident for at least 20 years are allowed to take the civics portion in another language.

People aged 55 or older who have been a U.S. permanent resident for at least 15 years have the same exemption.

Both groups of people are required to bring an interpreter fluent in English and their native language to the exam.

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The bill would likely run into opposition from immigrant advocacy groups, however.

Fine’s proposal comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March naming English as the country’s official language — the first time in its history that the U.S. has done so.