Believe In America.com

butterbean · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2271

The Bush administration is considering proposals that would make it tougher for legal immigrants to gain U.S. citizenship.

The proposals being drafted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, could nearly double application fees, toughen the required English and history exams, and ask probing questions about an applicant's past, such as "Who is your current wife's ex-husband.

The U.S.-Mexico border is at the forefront of a growing debate over U.S. immigration and border security reform.
In an interview yesterday, a USCIS spokesman said the contemplated changes are necessary to pay increased administrative costs and to standardize an application that is subjective and varies across the country.

But immigration rights advocates say the changes would amount to a second wall, a potential barrier against legal immigration that is as formidable as the newly authorized southern border fence is supposed to be against illegal migrants.

continued:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601799.html