The Metro: What it means to be an American in 2026
Citizenship is often treated as a checklist of facts. But in a moment of heightened enforcement and political tension, being American is increasingly defined by who feels secure, who belongs, and who is asked to prove it.
People decrying Trump's immigration policies gather for a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., just hours after President Trump was inaugurated for his second term.
Who wrote the Federalist Papers? What power does the president have? Name one right only U.S. citizens possess.
Those are real questions from the U.S. citizenship civics test. The test now draws from 128 possible questions. It asks up to 20 on the spot. Individuals must answer at least 12 correctly to pass.
Many native-born Americans would struggle with questions like these.
As immigration enforcement intensifies in the United States and federal authorities expand arrests and deportation efforts, the question of what it means to be an American is being thrust into public view.
That is because citizenship isn’t just something written on a test. It is a lived experience, felt in neighborhoods, courtrooms, and in the center of our political conversation.
To unpack what it means to be an American, and how that’s changed over time, The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent spoke with Marc Kruman. He’s a retired professor of history at Wayne State University and the founding director of its Center for the Study of Citizenship
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