This is Teacher Jennifer from US Citizenship Podcast
Happy African American History Month!
During the month of February,
US Citizenship Podcast
explores the connection between African American History and the USCIS Citizenship interview.
Our first interview is a re-edit of a Citizenship interview with Krestos Negasi from Ethiopia
This mock citizenship interview was inspired by HOLDING THE BAG,
a high beginning ESL novel about an Ethiopian American cab driver in Washington DC
After the interview, I will talk a little bit more about HOLDING THE BAG
and how to contact our federal representatives in Washington DC.
Let's get started.
Hello. How are you today?
I'm fine.
How is the weather today?
It's sunny.
How did you get here today?
I drove my taxi cab.
Why are you here today?
I want to become a U.S. Citizen
Do you promise to tell the truth?
Yes
Explain how you are eligible to become a US citizen.
I have been a legal permanent resident for five years.
State your full name
Negasi Krestos
What is your date of birth?
March 24 1971
What is the date of your permanent residence?
May 15, 2005
What is the your country of birth?
Ethiopia
What is the country of your nationality?
Ethiopia
What is your current home address?
12 F Street NW, Apartment 2, Washington DC 20006
Do you work?
Yes, I have a job.
Where do you work?
I drive a taxi cab.
Since becoming a permanent resident, how many days have you spent outside the United States?
100 days
How many trips have you taken outside of the United States?
Two
When did you leave and when did you come back?
I left June 30th, 2009 and returned July 30th, 2009.
What is your current marital status?
I'm married
Do you have any children?
I have two children.
Have you ever claimed to be a US citizen?
I never said that I was a US citizen.
Have you ever voted in the United States ?
No I have never chosen a U.S. leader.
Do you pay your taxes every year?
Yes I pay my taxes every year.
Have you ever been a communist?
No
What is communism?
Communism is the government (party) of China, Vietnam, North Korea, and Cuba.
Have you ever been a terrorist?
No
What is terrorism?
A terrorist uses violence to control people and governments.
Have you ever been arrested?
No
What is arrested?
The police stop you and take you to jail because the police think that you broke the law.
Have you ever been a habitual drunkard.
No .
What is a habitual drunkard?
A habitual drunkard drinks too much alcohol everyday and becomes sick
Have you ever been deported?
No.
What is deported?
Deported means that the US government says that I must go back to my old country.
Do you support the Constitution?
Yes
What is the Constitution?
The supreme law of the land.
What is the United States form of government?
A republic and a democracy
Are you willing to take the full Oath of Allegiance?
Yes
What is the Oath of Allegiance?
I promise to always be loyal to the USA.
Do you promise to bear arms when required by US law?
Yes
What is to bear arms?
To bear arms means to carry a weapon when the law requires it.
Do you promise to perform noncombatant work?
Yes
What is noncombatant?
Noncombatant means to help the US Armed Services without using weapons.
Do you promise to help during a national emergency?
Yes
If there is a national emergency who would you help?
the Red Cross
Sign your name.
Print your name.
Initial here and here and write the date.
Let's continue.
Are you ready for your civics test?
Yes.
What did Martin Luther King Jr. do?
He worked for equality for all Americans.
Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government.
What is one power of the federal government?
To print money.
What is the capital of the United States?
Washington DC
What is one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
He freed the slaves.
There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote.
Describe one of them.
You don't have to pay a poll tax to vote
What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
the Civil Rights Movement
A bit more about HOLDING THE BAG:
Negasi is a Washington DC taxi driver from Ethiopia
who has been in the US for many years and has a family.
He accidentally becomes involved in a robbery and faces a moral issue.
You can order HOLDING THE BAG by Ana Gianola
or CITIZENSHIP PASSING THE TEST by Lynn Weintraub
From New Readers Press (newreaderspress.com).
Check the show notes for the links.
More about HOLDING THE BAG:
From July 5th to July 21st 2017,
I taught a combined ESL 2 and ESL 3 class at Milpitas Adult School.
We took this opportunity to study ESL/ Citizenship and read HOLDING THE BAG,
AN ESL novel set in Washington DC
that had many opportunities to study for the US citizenship interview.
During our class,
I posted daily audio files, videos, and online citizenship activities related to each chapter of the book.
After the class ended,
we continued to post EdPuzzles of VOA Learning English Presidents videos
to our class website MilpitasChat.com
Since this three-week summer school class has ended,
I am proud to announce that four students have become US citizens
--students who would normally not qualify for the Citizenship Class because of their low literacy level
Why did they pass?
Because they had a goal to become a US citizen.
To achieve their goal,
they continued to study Citizenship
and practice speaking English a little bit every day inside and outside the classroom.
For more info, go to MilpitasChat.com and look for Beginning Level Citizenship Class.
Before we end the show,
I would like to give you a "heads up" about the upcoming congressional budget vote
which is centered around DACA and the U.S. Immigration Policy
DACA is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
This is an American immigration policy
that allows some individuals who entered the country as minors
to live work and go to school in the United States without fear of deportation
Last September, the Trump administration tried to end the DACA program.
In January 2018, a federal judge said that the USCIS
must continue to renew DACA applications.
On January 19th, the US government shut down for two days over stalemate on DACA
At that time, Congress voted to defer a decision about DACA for three weeks.
The deadline is coming up this week on February 8th (not February 15th).
Congress has still been unable to make a decision about DACA.
Although a government shutdown does not affect USCIS Citizenship services,
take this opportunity to make your voice heard
Contact your federal representatives by phone or email via Senate.gov or House.gov
or even use your social media accounts to do so.
You can also call or write the President.
Go to www.WhiteHouse.gov
Or you could send a letter or postcard to
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, 20500
Phone number 202-456-1111
Write, record, tweet, or post a simple message such as: "I support DACA"
For more info, watch or listen to our 01/21/18 podcast "USCIS and the Government Shutdown"
And check the show notes for links of more details.
Thanks to the students & staff of Milpitas Adult School.
Please visit us on the web at uscitizenpod.com
where you can find more Citizenship resources for African American History Month
which include Citizenship, Immigration, and Government Resources in African Languages