John Jaywalking

The next time you hear a neighbor or a right-wing nativist proclaim the ruination of America by too much immigration, ask him or her a couple of questions from the following list. They are among 100 questions immigrants may be asked in order to become citizens. Not all 100 of them, but these are from the pool from which immigration officials draw.

I heard on TV that the average score is 84 percent among foreigners applying to become Americans. How much do you know? More than Jay Walkers from the Tonight Show? Even more important, how much does the president of the United States know?

Try these 20 questions. Miss three and see if Canada will take you!

• What is the supreme law of the land?
• The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
• What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
• How many amendments does the Constitution have?
• Who makes federal laws?
• Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators?*
• Name your U.S. Representative.
• If both the President and the Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
• What are two Cabinet-level positions?
• Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
• Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
• Who is the Governor of your state?
• Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
• When was the Constitution written?
• The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
• What did Susan B. Anthony do?
• Who did the United States fight in World War II?
• Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States.
• Name one U.S. territory.
• Why does the flag have 13 stripes?