Y 4.589/2:S. HRG. 104-872 S. HRG. 104-872 NATURALIZATION PRACTICES HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY ONE HUNDRED FOURTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON EXAMINING THE PRACTICES AND POLICIES OF THE IMMIGRATION AND PROCESS 41-503 OCTOBER 9 AND 22, 1996 Serial No. J-104-102 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1997 DEPOSITORY AUG 2 1 1997 Stanford University For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402 CHARLES E. GRASSLEY, Iowa EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California DICK DAY, Chief Counsel (II) CONTENTS STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Simpson, Hon. Alan K., U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming Simon, Hon. Paul, U.S. Senator from the State of Illinois Kennedy, Hon. Edward M., U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts ...... T. Alexander Aleinikoff, Executive Associate Commissioner for Programs, Im- migration and Naturalization Service, Washington, DC; accompanied by Don Crocetti, Associate Commissioner for Examinations, Immigration and Naturalization Service; and David Rosenberg, Director, Citizenship USA, Immigration and Naturalization Service Panel consisting of Paul W. Roberts, chief executive officer, Naturalization Assistance Services, Inc., Lakeland, FL; and Richard Krieger, vice presi- dent, Marich Associates, Inc., Rockville, MD Panel consisting of Michael J. Feuer, director, Board of Testing and Assess- ment, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC; and Bert F. Green, Jr., professor of psychology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD Panel consisting of Rosemary Jenks, director of policy analysis, Center for Immigration Studies, Washington, DC; and Kathi Flynn, immigration su- Panel consisting of John Fonte, visiting scholar, American Enterprise Insti- tute; Lawrence Harrison, professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Douglas Klusmeyer, editor, Stanford Humanities Review Panel consisting of Georgie Anne Geyer, syndicated columnist and author of Americans No More: The Death of Citizenship; Dan Stein, executive director, Federation for American Immigration Reform; and Raul Yzaguirre, Geyer, Georgie Anne: Testimony Harrison, Lawrence: Testimony Article entitled, "U.S. Students Stumble on Citizenship Test," from the Letter from Cliff Frazier, executive director, New York Metropolitan Mar- tin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolence to Mr. Krieger, dated Letter from Antonia Hernández, president and general counsel, Mexican- 312 .......... Letter to the editor of the National Review from Charles Kamasaki, senior vice president, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), dated Sept. 19, 1996 ... Prepared statement of Harry P. Pachon, Ph.D., Kenan professor of political studies, Pitzer College/Claremont Graduate School, and president, Tomás Center for Equal Opportunity (CEO) Policy Brief, dated October 1996 NATURALIZATION PRACTICES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1996 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:04 a.m., in room SD-226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Alan K. Simpson (chairman of the subcommittee), presiding. Also present: Senator Kennedy. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ALAN K. SIMPSON, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WYOMING Senator SIMPSON. The hearing will come to order. Good morning. Welcome to a hearing of the Subcommittee on Immigration on INS naturalization practices. There has been quite a bit of notoriety about this issue. I think it is important to leave some kind of a record behind with regard to at least the current situation. Today, the subcommittee will hear testimony from witnesses who are familiar with the practices of the recent past. We will hear from INS, from independent test-givers, from test development experts, and from outside observers. But I think before we turn our attention to the process and all its requirements, we need to be clear why naturalization is so very important. U.S. citizenship is, and should be, a most precious, precious status. I know when I practiced law in Cody, WY, that was one of the most impressive ceremonies when they would appear before the district judge within the District of Wyoming in the small communities to receive this precious status, and it is indeed. Certainly, whether a person is a citizen by birth or by choice, U.S. citizenship is eagerly sought by immigrants from around the globe. Many of us who are born here in the United States take our citizenship for granted. We do not always treasure it as we ought too. It is those who naturalize, who choose America over any "foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty" and promise to "bear true faith and allegiance," it is these newest citizens who remind us of how special American citizenship is. Naturalization is the process which reinforces the bonds among all citizens, and it culminates in the at least formerly impressive ceremony where our Nation welcomes its newest Americans. Please know that the requirements for naturalization are not arbitrary. First, citizenship applicants must reside in the United States for 5 years, 3 years if their spouse is already a citizen; second, be able to speak, to read, and to write English; third, to have knowledge (1) |