PRO/CON: Should sanctuary cities lose their federal funding?

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PRO/CON: Should sanctuary cities lose their federal funding? By Tribune News Service, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.07.

1 PRO/CON: Should sanctuary cities lose their federal funding? By Tribune News Service, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 1,257 Edith Cuautle (right), who has been living in the country illegally, and her daughter, Karen, 8, who was born in the United States, joined dozens of others who are here illegally, as well as activists and supporters, in Sacramento, California, to celebrate President Barack Obama's executive action on illegal immigration, Nov. 21, AP/Rich Pedroncelli PRO: Sanctuary cities should get no money from U.S. A sanctuary is a place of safety. A sanctuary city is an area that protects immigrants who are living in this country without permission. Sanctuary cities do not help the government send back these immigrants to their countries. There are more than 300 sanctuary areas nationwide. They are in cities like New York, counties like Cook County in Illinois and even whole states like California. Sanctuary cities are dangerous to public safety. They are against government law. A group of lawmakers want to stop giving them money. It should have been done a long time ago. In 2014, the government's Department of Homeland Security wanted to send home more than 9,000 criminals who entered the country without permission. They lived in areas that gave immigrants sanctuary. The criminals were released instead, according to the department s records. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 1

2 More than 2,000 of them went on to commit new crimes, including murder. Many of these criminals are still on the streets. A List Of Victims One of the many American victims of sanctuary rules was Kathryn Steinle. She was killed last year by a criminal in San Francisco, California. The city had refused to turn him over to immigration officials to return to his home country. Another victim was high school football star Jamiel Shaw Jr. of Los Angeles, California. He was murdered in 2008 by a gang member in the country without permission. The gang member was protected by Los Angeles Special Order 40. It was one of the nation s first sanctuary laws. The Remembrance Project keeps the stories of Steinle and Shaw and other Americans. They were killed by people who were living in the country without permission. Many of their murderers were protected by sanctuary cities. In 1996, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., made a law that said cities cannot have sanctuary rules. The rules had made it much harder for the government to kick out immigrants in the country without permission. The law did not work because no one forced the cities to go along with it. The best way to get cities to follow the law is to cut off money to cities and states that defy the law. Lawmakers have tried this in the past but were not successful. "I Want You To Do Something" It may change. Representative John Culberson of Texas is a lawmaker. He recently wrote the attorney general, the top lawyer for the government. He demanded that sanctuary cities should not receive money from the government. Culberson pointed out that these communities are breaking the law. In addition, the congressman made clear that he and other lawmakers mean what they say. This matters because the government gives money to different parts of the government when a spending budget is passed each year. Then those government departments give some money to states and cities. The departments often use the money for a different purpose than what the budget said. Lawmakers need to approve this, though. Culberson has said he would not agree to changes in spending until the government stops giving money to sanctuary cities. He plans to include a ban on sanctuary cities in the next government budget. It could set up a major fight. One group of lawmakers would work to send home criminals in the country without permission and other lawmakers would work to protect them. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 2

3 Laura Wilkerson's son, Joshua, was killed by a criminal in the country without permission. She told senators at a meeting last fall, I don t want the sympathy. I want you to do something. She s right, and doing something about sanctuary cities is long overdue. ABOUT THE WRITER: Mark Krikorian is executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a research organization that examines the impact of immigration on the United States. This essay is available to Tribune News Service subscribers. Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Tribune or Newsela. CON: Lawmakers should focus on creating hope, not hate Fear is one of the strongest feelings. It drives us to avoid danger. The instinct is a reason that we have survived. Fear can indeed make us aware of danger. It can also lead us to make bad choices that can hurt us. This is why making people fearful is common in politics. Just pay attention to the messages coming out of the presidential election. Politicians Playing On Our Fears Candidates and elected officials are taking advantage of fears that many Americans have about immigrants. They are especially focusing on immigrants who are in the United States illegally. These candidates are using fear to get people to vote for them. Their message is so strong that it brings up our greatest human fear. It is the fear of the unknown. Unfortunately, fear of the unknown often turns into hate. Donald Trump is a Republican candidate for president. Republicans and Democrats are the two main political groups in America. Trump has said that immigrants are murderers. He has also promised to build a wall around the United States, and said the country should not allow Muslims to come to America. These extreme statements make people even more scared. Trump is not alone in using tough talk on immigrants. Almost every Republican candidate has ideas about immigrants that play on fear. This tactic is not limited to the presidential election either. In a recent trip to the Southwest, I saw many ads for state candidates that use tough talk. The ads said things that made people feel afraid but were not true. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 3

4 Lawmakers in Washington want to make a law that is based on fear. The law would not give money for police in states and cities that give sanctuary for immigrants. Immigrants Are Humans Too The actions in Congress take advantage of two fears at once. The first is that some people are afraid of immigrants. The second is the fear immigrants themselves have. They are afraid of being sent home, of their families being split up, of losing their jobs. Immigrants are humans too. For many of them, their journey to the United States was a search for safety and hope. Immigrants who are in the United States without permission live a balancing act. They try to achieve their dreams. At the same time, they try to avoid their worst fears. Sanctuary cities or states are not full of crime, as opponents want you to believe. They do not tell their police to check whether people are in this country with permission or not. Instead, they tell their police to spend more time on fighting and preventing crime. It makes sense. What does not make sense is taking money away from the police to fight crime. We are not even talking about that much money. The entire amount represents less than a tiny fraction of the budget. It is meaningless and mean-spirited, like a Trump rant. Congress should reject this approach that scares people. It should focus more on creating opportunity and hope for everyone living in the United States. It does not matter how they or their ancestors arrived in this country. ABOUT THE WRITER: Don Kusler is the executive director of Americans for Democratic Action, a liberal advocacy organization ( This essay is available to Tribune News Service subscribers. Tribune did not subsidize the writing of this column; the opinions are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Tribune or Newsela. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 4

5 Quiz 1 Read the fourth paragraph of the PRO article. More than 2,000 of them went on to commit new crimes, including murder. Many of these criminals are still on the streets. In the second sentence, what does the phrase "on the streets" mean? homeless not in jail traveling returning home 2 Read the first paragraph of the CON article. Fear is one of the strongest feelings. It drives us to avoid danger. The instinct is a reason that we have survived. What phrase BEST matches the meaning of the word "instinct" in this quote? something we worked hard to learn something we do to survive something that helps us understand fear something we know to do without thinking 3 Which view is shared by the authors of the PRO and CON articles? People in the United States should live without fear of violence. Police should help find and deport immigrants who entered the country without permission. Lawmakers should pay attention to the needs of everyone in the United States. Local governments should obey the laws of the United States. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 5

6 4 Read the PRO article's section "I Want You To Do Something." According to the article, what action does Representative Culberson want the government to take? He wants the government to send criminals who do not have permission to be in the United States back to their home countries. He wants the United States to stop giving money to sanctuary cities. He wants the government to work harder to keep all immigrants from entering the country. He wants the government to give money to sanctuary cities to change their laws. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 6

7 Answer Key 1 Read the fourth paragraph of the PRO article. More than 2,000 of them went on to commit new crimes, including murder. Many of these criminals are still on the streets. In the second sentence, what does the phrase "on the streets" mean? homeless not in jail traveling returning home 2 Read the first paragraph of the CON article. Fear is one of the strongest feelings. It drives us to avoid danger. The instinct is a reason that we have survived. What phrase BEST matches the meaning of the word "instinct" in this quote? something we worked hard to learn something we do to survive something that helps us understand fear something we know to do without thinking 3 Which view is shared by the authors of the PRO and CON articles? People in the United States should live without fear of violence. Police should help find and deport immigrants who entered the country without permission. Lawmakers should pay attention to the needs of everyone in the United States. Local governments should obey the laws of the United States. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 7

8 4 Read the PRO article's section "I Want You To Do Something." According to the article, what action does Representative Culberson want the government to take? He wants the government to send criminals who do not have permission to be in the United States back to their home countries. He wants the United States to stop giving money to sanctuary cities. He wants the government to work harder to keep all immigrants from entering the country. He wants the government to give money to sanctuary cities to change their laws. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 8

If it becomes a law, here is what the new health care bill will mean

If it becomes a law, here is what the new health care bill will mean By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 05.08.17 Word Count 648 Level 560L President Donald Trump (left), accompanied by Republicans