Hirono Leads Senate Fight Against Trump’s Surprise Citizenship Test Crackdown (EXCLUSIVE)
Hawaii’s immigrant senator demands answers after Trump revives a tougher naturalization civics test—calling out the harm to future Americans and demanding for the White House to justify the change.
WASHINGTON — Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, leading a group of Senate Democrats, is challenging the Trump administration’s decision to dramatically overhaul the naturalization civics test in a move she says will block citizenship applicants from achieving the American dream.
In a letter released today to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow, Hirono—herself a Japanese immigrant who arrived in the United States at age eight—is demanding the administration justify why it’s making the civics test harder without scientific evidence or meaningful public input.
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“The Administration’s decision to make the naturalization process more arduous for long-time residents will have lasting consequences for our communities and immigration system,” the letter states, calling the move part of a “larger scheme to arbitrarily impose new obstacles to citizenship.”
The challenge comes after the Trump administration quietly implemented sweeping changes to the civics test on October 20, 2025—a move that forces future citizenship applicants to answer 12 of 20 questions correctly, double the current requirement, and draws from an expanded pool of 128 questions rather than the current 100. The new test features more difficult, open-ended questions that immigration advocates warn will disproportionately impact elderly immigrants, low-income applicants without access to preparation services, and those with limited English proficiency or literacy levels.
The Damning Evidence
What makes the Trump administration’s argument particularly weak, according to the Hirono-led coalition: one-third of native-born Americans would fail the new test. The Institute of Citizens & Scholars found that only about one in three Americans could pass the revised civics exam—yet USCIS claims the current test is “just too easy,” as Director Edlow stated.
“Despite this, USCIS failed to present substantial evidence or a compelling justification demonstrating that the revisions are necessary,” the letter emphasizes.
A Pattern of Barriers
This civics test crackdown is not happening in isolation. The letter flags what Hirono and her co-signers describe as a coordinated assault on the pathway to citizenship: In August, USCIS introduced a vague new requirement that applicants prove they have “good moral character”—a dramatic shift from simply showing they lack disqualifying offenses. Earlier this year, the administration also froze the Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program, a bipartisan initiative that has helped more than 375,000 lawful permanent residents prepare for U.S. citizenship.
Hirono’s Immigrant Fight
Hirono brings particular moral authority to this fight. A trailblazer in American politics, she was the first Asian immigrant and first Buddhist to serve in the U.S. Senate, and the first woman to represent Hawaii in that chamber. Her personal immigration story—arriving as a child and building a career through the American legal system—informs her fierce advocacy for immigrants’ rights.
Joining Hirono on the letter is Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, whose immigration advocacy has been equally unrelenting. Markey has spent his career fighting what he calls the “cruelty” of Trump administration immigration policies. He visited detention facilities and the border in 2018 and 2019, speaking directly with detained immigrants. He has championed protections for Temporary Protected Status holders from Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, and beyond, and fought the Trump State Department’s “public charge rule” that prevented immigrants from accessing healthcare and nutrition assistance.
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The Stakes
For immigrant communities and those championing inclusion, the stakes could not be higher. Naturalization is not a privilege bestowed arbitrarily—it is the culmination of years of legal residency, work, and contribution to American communities. Nearly half of all Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their descendants, underscoring the economic and cultural vitality immigrants bring to the nation.
The Hirono-Markey challenge represents the opening salvo in what is likely to be a fierce legislative and legal battle over the soul of American immigration policy. For immigrant advocates watching the civics test overhaul, this letter signals that pro-immigrant voices in Congress will not yield quietly to what they see as an ideological assault on naturalization.
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Can we make the Pedoführer take it, and if (when) he fails, he gets deported to Mars on a not quite yet serviceable SpaceX Starship? Thanks for your attention to this matter.
I guess everybody better dig in a study real hard.