When immigrants want to become Americans, they must take a civics test as part of their naturalization interview before a Citizenship and Immigration Services officer. The questions are usually selected from a list of 100 sample questions (see PDF) that prospective citizens can look at ahead of the interview (though the examiner is not limited to those questions). Some are easy, some are not. We have picked some of the more difficult ones.

Should you be welcomed immediately to the Land of the Free or sent home for some more homework? Find out!

(PLEASE NOTE: These questions are as asked on the official United States Immigration and Naturalization Services Web site. Candidates are not given multiple choices in the naturalization interview, which is conducted orally.)

Take the test on MSNBC's website

"The right of self defence is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any colour or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."

- St. George Tucker; Tucker's Blackstone

NOTE: The "Full Document" links do not work at this time. ...we're working on it.  -sm

Remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff at University of Southern California National Center for Risk ... (Immigration Portal)

Dept. of Homeland Security phones hacked (Daily Herald)

Homeland Security Phones Hacked (CBS News)

Homeland Security phone system hacked (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)

CA Labs Receives $815,000 Research Award from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Centre Daily Times)

CA Labs Receives $815,000 Research Award from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)

Homeland Integrated Security Systems, Inc. Discusses Listing of Products on GSA Schedule and Other Key Events During ... (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance)

School Matters: Homeland Security High (New America Media)

Homeland Integrated Security Systems to Host Nationwide Teleconference Today (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance)

Senator John Cornyn lauds UTEP homeland security center during visit (El Paso Times)

{slide=This is a test slide}35.  October 27, Government Computer News  Chertoff lays out plan for fusion centers. As the United States faces threats from weapons of mass destruction, as well as high-consequence international and homegrown plots, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is working with state, local, federal and international law enforcement to defend the country from terrorism. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said stopping domestic terrorism threats is best done through shared intelligence, starting at the local level. To ensure that this coordination and collaboration happens, DHS will establish fusion centers, stocked with experts, and will work to grant clearance of classified information more quickly. Both initiatives are part of the departments effort to take its relationships with major city police chiefs and information sharing to the next level. The fusion centers will be made up of intelligence personnel from the federal intelligence community, subject matter experts and intelligence analysts and operators of local police departments. The goal is to become more deeply embedded in one anothers day-to-day intelligence analysis and operational activity, Chertoff said. DHS plans to have 20 fusion centers by the end of the fiscal year and up to 35 fusion centers by the end of the next fiscal year. Source: http://www.gcn.com{/slide} 

In the News

US Representative Peter King (Republican, New York), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has called the New York Times "treasonous" for informing the public about another secret Bush Administration counter-terrorist program, the Associated Press reports.

Read more... 

Watch the watchers. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has such broad reaching powers and controls so many varied parts of the federal government's ongoing activities that we, as free people, cannot afford to let it be unwatched. For now, the system of checks and balances built into our Constitution seem to be failing us.

The DHS Watch is ShadowMonkey's small contribution toward helping us to remain a nation of free people.

NOTE: The DHS Watch is currently under development. [060628  -sm]

For a sample of the development level DHS Watch, see the sample editions.

Another related project under development is the DHS OSI Report, developed by ShadowMonkey from national infrastructure report documents produced by the DHS. A listing of available editions is available here .