This fall, Americans from across our nation celebrated the dedication of a new memorial in Washington, D.C. to the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In his immortal words, Dr. King spoke of living in a nation where his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. ”

Sadly, Dr. King’s dream has not yet been realized. With the introduction of laws in Georgia (HB 87) and Alabama (HB 56), we have seen the emergence of a new era of Jim Crow laws targeting our nation’s Latino community, setting our nation back significantly in the pursuit of racial justice and equality for all.

Georgia’s law gives local police the authority to detain any citizen suspected of being an immigrant to check their immigration status. This means that anyone who simply looks Latino could be subject to having to produce papers that prove their citizenship. Businesses would be required to use a federal electronic verification system before hiring Latino workers or risk losing their licenses.

In Alabama, the law takes an even more sinister approach. In addition to the Georgia provisions, the Alabama law requires schools to check the status of new students when they enroll. This flies in the face of federal law, which not only designates children of immigrants who are born on U.S. soil to be American citizens but also forbids the denial of education to any child in this country.

The chilling effect of this law on our nation’s Latino children is already evident: in the first two weeks of its implementation, Alabama schools have reported unusually high absentee rates among Latino children.

The law also goes further by making it a state crime for anyone who knowingly transports or houses an undocumented immigrant.

Many of the lawmakers who signed on to these bills claimed that their goal was to make more jobs available to American workers. But they failed to take into account that most Americans are not interested in filling the jobs that immigrants do – jobs that often feature hard labor and grueling conditions.

The result: In Georgia, farmers reported a loss of $140 million in crops due to the loss of migrant labor since the law began in July. They tried to fill the void with prison labor, but the effort stalled when they discovered that inmates were not as productive as Latino laborers.

In Alabama, efforts to rebuild areas devastated by this year’s storms have stalled due to the loss of Latino workers who make up a large part of the construction work force in that state. Contractors in Tuscaloosa, Alabama reported that, with the loss of their Latino workforce, they were unable to find replacements to repair the tornado damage.

Both of these laws owe their genesis to two anti-immigration bills passed in Arizona (SB 1070) last year. Fortunately, federal courts struck down the laws, but not before the state suffered extreme economic repercussions. A study conducted by Arizona-based economists for the Center for American Progress found that the Arizona economy took a hit of an estimated $141 million, including $45 million in hotel and lodging cancellations, and $96 million in lost commercial revenue. Fewer tourists meant the loss of 2,761 jobs, $253 million in economic output, and $9.4 million in tax revenues.

Fortunately, a number of states considering similar copycat bills opted out due to concerns over the potential economic fallout. A fiscal-impact analysis conducted by the state Senate in Kentucky projected a cost of $40 million a year to the state if anti-immigration legislation was passed. Tennessee, Florida, Indiana, and other states likewise rejected similar bills for economic reasons.

And just recently, a federal appeals court put certain provisions of the Alabama bill on hold, indicating that the Constitution does not permit states to override the federal government on issues related to foreign policy. Key aspects of the bill are still intact, however, including allowing police to detain those suspected of being in the country illegally or to arrest those who enter into any kind of contract with state or federal government, which includes things as basic as applying for a driver’s license or getting access to city or county water.

As Latinos, we cannot rely on the courts or the economic threat to stem the tide of these bills. We must speak out in our communities and through the ballot box against any attempt to promote racial profiling and override federal constitutional authority to enforce immigration law. We must support efforts by organizations like the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Council of La Raza and other organizations that are fighting on the front lines to defeat bills like these that threaten the civil rights of Latinos. And, we must urge Congress to pass rational, comprehensive immigration reform that brings the thousands of immigrants out of the shadows and into a system of earned legalization.

As a nation, our best moments have occurred when people unite against injustice and discrimination – when we stand up for our neighbors. We should remind all Americans that not only is this the best path for our nation economically, but it is also the right path for achieving the dream that Dr. King imagined for all of us 48 years ago.

By: Mickey IbarraFounder, Latino Leaders Network, President, Ibarra Strategy Group

“The Latino Leaders Network is honored to host Julie Stav at our next luncheon and to present her with our Eagle Leadership Award for her outstanding contributions totheLatino community,” says Mickey Ibarra.  “There is no media personality who has helped or had a greater influence on millions of Latinos wanting to realize their American Dream than Julie Stav.  Her common sense approach to financial counseling has been instrumental in leading so many members of our community toward greater financial independence and stability.”

For the more than 50 million Hispanics in the United States, Julie Stav is not only a financial expert and educator, she is considered by many as a leader and inspirational role model.  Through her popular national radio show, “Tu Dinero con Julie Stav”; her New York Times best-selling books; her role as Univision Network Television’s on-air financial expert and her latest endeavor launched in June 2007: Tu Dinero, a cutting edge digital publication that delivers the best and most relevant financial news to the Hispanic community faster than ever before, Julie has inspired and empowered Latinos nationwide.

She was born in Cuba, where her father owned a factory, until Fidel Castro took control of the country.  Her father was forced into becoming the janitor of the factory he used to own, and Julie was painfully sent off by her parents for the opportunity of a better life.  Immediately upon being separated from her family, she was sent to an orphanage in Mexico and endured a difficult two-year separation from her family. When Julie was finally reunited with her family in Los Angeles and enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District, she could speak no English and had such difficulty communicating that she was classified as mentally retarded.  Her father wrote to the bishop of the church in his town in Cuba asking him to intercede and the bishop in turn wrote to the Pope on Julie’s behalf.  Much to everyone’s surprise, the Pope not only responded, but secured Julie’s admission into Loyola Marymount University, where Julie went on to earn her bachelor’s degree and teaching credential.

She became a teacher and advisor to the LAUSD’s bilingual education program but found herself in difficult times have a divorce left her penniless.  She began to read everything she could about investing and finance, achieving success by a process of trial and error. Julie turned her own life around, but being a teacher at heart, she wasn’t content to simply improve her own lot. She now wanted to share what she had learned, and provide the average American family, and other Hispanics with the same tools that she had previously found out were not so easily accessible.  Her goal was to inspire, and more importantly, empower others like her to turn their finances around in the face of daunting obstacles, but to do so in an everyday language they could all understand. Eventually, Julie earned a stockbroker’s license and began educating thousands of people each year—in English and Spanish—through financial planning seminars.

In her first two books, Get Your Share and Fund Your Future, both New York Times best-sellers, Julie took the mystery out of investing and gave readers the tools to choose investments wisely in English and in Spanish. Every day on radio, and weekly on television, millions tune in to Julie’s radio show and TV segments on the Univision Radio and TV networks, to hear her practical, life-changing financial advice. The magazine she co-founded, Tu Dinero—the first and only Spanish language finance magazine for a US audience—has recently been transformed into a cutting-edge digital publication, its content now reaching more than 11 million readers each month thanks to a distribution deal with Impremedia, the #1 Spanish language print and online news publisher in the US.

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. is the sponsor for the luncheon.  Thanks to the support of State Farm, each attendee at the luncheon will receive a copy of Julie Stav’s latest book, “The Money In You.”  Media partners include the Hispanic Communications Network, Latino Leaders Magazine, LATINAStyle Magazine, Latino Magazine, and the Latino Print Network. Southwest Airlines is the official airline ofthe Latino Leaders Network.

Latino Leaders Network™ (LLN) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to develop ongoing opportunities to bring leaders together to establish relationships and dialogue on issues important to the Latino community.  In addition to the Latino Leaders Luncheon Series™, signature LLN events include the Tribute to Mayors.  Mickey Ibarra, LLN Founder and Chairman, served as Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House from 1997 to 2001. Other LLN Board members include: Michelle Minguez Moore, LLN
Board Member; Maria Teresa Kumar, Voto Latino; Ruben Alvarez, The Molera Alvarez Group; David Ibarra, Ibarra Foundation, Soyla Fernandez, Fernández Government Solutions; Ken Trujillo, Trujillo Rodriguez & Richards; and Miguel Santana, Chief Administrative Officer of Los Angeles.  For more information, go to LatinoLeadersNetwork.org.

Notes:  Media wishing to cover the luncheon are asked to RSVP to Jennifer Devlin at 703-876-1714 or  jennifer.devlin@cox.net.  Press call time is 12:00 pm forthe luncheon.

 Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) gave the keynote address at the Latino Leaders Luncheon series at the Capital Hilton Wednesday. The luncheon, hosted by the Latino Leaders Network (LLN), also included remarks by Tom Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF and Lillian Rodriguez-Lopez, president of the Hispanic Federation. The quarterly event provides a platform for Latino leaders to share their personal story of obstacles overcome to achieve success.

Mickey Ibarra, founder and chairman of the Latino Leaders Network, said that the luncheon is a unifying force among Latino leaders. “It was created with a focus on a simple mission—bringing people together,” he said.

“We are delighted to open our seventh season of the Latino Leaders Luncheon Series with TonyPlana and to present him with our Community Service Award for outstanding contributions to theLatino community,” says Mickey Ibarra. “As an actor, director, producer and educator, Tony Plana hashelped open cultural opportunities for numerous Latinos, both as a role model and an advocate forliteracy and the performing arts.”

Read more by clicking Actor Tony Plan Media Advisory