Plan to revise Oath of Allegiance falters

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Federal officials have backed away from rewriting the Oath of Allegiance taken by new citizens, after criticism from Congress and veterans who say the new pledge places less emphasis on defending the Constitution.

Public reaction to the Oath has been critical -- in particular, language that calls for the defense, not support, of the Constitution "where and if lawfully required."

The current oath includes an unconditional pledge to "support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic."

The proposed oath also dropped the pledge to "bear true faith and allegiance to" and "bear arms on behalf of" the Constitution and laws of the United States.

But a spokesman for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) says the proposed language and date of release of the revised oath were never decided, and that reports were based on "an internal discussion and document that found its way public."

"There was a potential revision, an internal communication, and also a suggestion that tomorrow would be an ideal release, an unveiling, but that was one of many internal recommendations and discussions of what we hope will one day be a new oath," BCIS spokesman Russ Knocke said.

BCIS, a division of the Homeland Security Department, was rewriting the pledge to simplify and update it.

Mr. Knocke said published reports that the unveiling was postponed because of negative public reaction were "not entirely accurate," and continual revisions are under way.

"We are very encouraged by the amount of feedback we have gotten that has really communicated a lot of support," he said.