Thread by @doug_rand

Here's a thoughtful—& therefore damning—analysis of the Trump administration's 11th-hour changes to the civics exam for aspiring US citizens.

Steven Lubet of @NorthwesternLaw susses out some truly fatal flaws beyond those widely reported already.

1/
politico.com/news/magazine/…

Here's an error worthy of Encyclopedia Brown: The Federalist Papers came *after* the Constitution was written, so this shouldn't be an acceptable answer.

2/

Name 3 "rights of everyone living in the United States"—but don't sweat anything after the 1st & 2nd amendments, like, say, equal protection or due process.

Can you imagine the uproar if a Democratic administration put forward a list of rights & left out the 2nd amendment?

3/

@USCIS says it relied on "input from experts in the field of adult education to ensure that this process is fair & transparent" & "piloted the test with community-based organizations & volunteers across the country,"

But there's no evidence of this.

4/
uscis.gov/news/news-rele…

Clearly, the Biden admin should immediately scrap this misbegotten exam & restore the status quo.

Then ask: What *is* the best way to assess "a knowledge & understanding of the fundamentals of the history, & of the principles & form of government, of the US"—per statute?

5/

What do high school social studies teachers (@NCSSNetwork), civics education providers (@icivics), & other experts recommend as "fundamentals" for aspiring Americans to learn?

That's not a 1st 100 Days imperative—too much Trump-era mess to clean up—but a longer-term goal.

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