By Melissa Savignano

It’s a known adage that small acts can change the world. And change—small or great—begins when you have a problem to solve, an idea for a solution, and helping hands to make the work lighter.

This tenet propels a new endeavor from Assistant Professor of Sociology Heba Gowayed, a scholar of immigration at BU’s College of Arts & Sciences. In 2019, she received the Moorman-Simon Interdisciplinary Career Development Professorship, which helps fund her research. She was recently working on her book Refuge (scheduled for publication in 2022) when one of the subjects in the book, a Syrian refugee, confided that she was upset. 

“I asked her what was wrong,” Gowayed recalls. “She said she had gone to her lawyer and tried to apply for the citizenship exam, and was told she wasn’t ready. She was told her English wasn’t good enough, that she didn’t have the civics knowledge.”

The difficulty of the United States citizenship exam discourages many immigrants from even applying. And without citizenship, immigrants and refugees’ status varies—and can be tenuous. Some must worry about deportation or can’t travel abroad to see loved ones or reunite with their families in the United States. With citizenship, on the other hand, their status becomes secure, and they can apply for certain jobs, vote, receive stimulus money, and be more active participants in their communities. They no longer have to feel like they don’t fully belong in the country where they live.

“[Citizenship] is a crucial resource for this group, and it was really devastating to her because she wasn’t able to become a citizen,” Gowayed explains. 

So she started to think of ways to help, beginning with the group of Syrian refugees she works with for her research. These Syrians had arrived in the United States in 2015 (you have to establish residency for five years in the U.S. before applying for the citizenship exam, so 2020 was a turning point for them). Gowayed launched a weekly Zoom course bringing together BU academics, graduate students, and the group of refugees in a “Citizenship Hub.” Her wing-people in this endeavor are three student volunteers from her course “Seminar on International Migration,” senior international relations major Lauren Mister (Pardee/CAS’21) and anthropology Ph.D. students Kelley Gourley (GRS) and Jonathan Norris (GRS).

Breaking Down the Exam

The citizenship exam has two parts: a spoken component that tests English skills and a civics component that asks questions about American history, geography, and other important topics. To pass, applicants must answer a set number of civics questions correctly and answer questions about themselves in proficient English. 

As part of the Citizenship Hub, which is housed within the Pardee Initiative for Forced Migration and Human Trafficking, Gowayed covers a different topic each week. Each of these topics could be featured on the exam; examples include facts about George Washington, the roles of the three branches of government, and the history of Thanksgiving. The Hub’s three student helpers are Arabic language learners, enabling them to lead breakout rooms to help the group of native Arabic speakers understand English words and terms used in the Hub meetings. They also go over the citizenship exam application form. Meanwhile, the student language learners grow their Arabic skills.

The program was born of a moment of concern but is also a place of joy and comradery. “As we are dealing with other stressors in this coronavirus moment, it’s really a shining light to do this with these people every Wednesday, in this inclusive space,” says Gowayed. “In a sea of stress, a lot of other things and places have become exclusive and xenophobic, and this was a real island of joy and symbiosis and people helping people that was really a pleasure to be a part of and orchestrate.” She and her team are continuing the work this semester with plans to hopefully make it a permanent program at the University. 

A Model for the Country

Socio-economic factors are a leading reason why immigrants don’t apply or don’t pass the test. According to a report from the Pew Research Center, Mexican immigrants, who have one of the lowest U.S. naturalization rates, “cite English proficiency, limited interest in applying for citizenship and the financial cost” for not applying. “[The Hub] fills a need because the barrier of the exam is so steep and is such a burden for folks,” Gowayed says.

Broad access to guidance on the exam and help with language skills could lead more immigrants to confidently apply for citizenship. The exam at first glance looks like a grade-school civics test. But according to a poll from Lincoln Park Strategies, only 1 in 3 Americans would actually pass it. And in December 2020, the Trump administration made the first changes to the test since 2008, including 28 new, unknown questions. While it’s anticipated that the Biden administration will reverse Trump administration policies such as increased application fees and these new questions, Gowayed hopes it doesn’t end there.

“I hope a Biden administration will not stop at rescinding these [restrictions] and will move forward to create a more hospitable United States for immigrants. Does the citizenship exam need to look the way it does? Is the status quo we have sufficient?,” she asks. “I believe in an America that progresses forward and expands its doors to people, and doesn’t just rescind what Trump has done but actually expands and becomes more of an inclusive country than we ever had been before.”

While the prep course is helping out a specific category of immigrant, Gowayed hopes to expand the program to help immigrants from any country with the exam. More than 44.7 million immigrants live in the United States, according to 2018 figures from the Pew Research Center, and the number seeking naturalization is increasing. From 2005 to 2015, over 1 million applicants were denied. A combination of services like the Citizenship Hub could help decrease that number.

“I don’t know if these people are going to pass the citizenship exam, but I know they are hopeful that they can and that the hope is derived from the space we created.”

—

Photo credit: Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

Melissa Savignano is a Digital Marketing & Communications Specialist for the College of Arts & Sciences. You can reach her at msavig@bu.edu.