[Mr. Schauble argues that citizenship should not be assigned at birth.] To which I ask:
So what protections does a minor have before he or she passes the "test"?
Same as minors who are resident aliens have now. That's quite a lot.
I'm not sure I agree with you. Many resident aliens have problems not directly associated with protections of citizens, but the stigma of being "merely" a "Resident alien." This aside, there are significant shortfalls in protections to aliens in general.
Will a passport be issued to a non-citizen?
No. They would be treated as minors and could travel abroad only when accompanied by a citizen who is taking responsibility for them. Much like minors at present.
Except that in your example, one could be a "probationary citizen" until he or she passed the test. Perhaps for the illiterate this means mandatory accompanied travel for life. Other examples spring quickly to mind. Consider how the green card stigma affects an individual. How many shots at the test does one get? What happens if the limit is reached? Deportment?
Yes, it's inconvenient for these new non-citizens. It's supposed to be. I agree with Heinlein that citizenship should be earned.
I can't help but feel that this only grants the state a new tool to deny substantive rights to whoever it feels like it wants to burden. Basing citizenship on any form of subjective test (which any history test will be) is problematic at best.
++PLS
It's not that I disagree with the concept that citizenship should be earned per se, only that it should be earned by exam. In deference to Perry, followups to e-mail. -uni- (Dark)