Colorado is making history with the new laws it has passed this year that bring greater justice for our state’s immigrants. Among these laws are ones that establish a legal defense fund for people in deportation proceedings; provide access to birth control for undocumented women; study the possibility of providing unemployment for the thousands of essential workers currently ineligible because of their immigration status, and much more.

These laws finally recognize that undocumented immigrants are integral to our communities. They are taxpayers. They are our neighbors. They are our families. Despite being denied citizenship in the country they call home, they continue to help weave the fabric of our communities through their business ownership and their participation in churches, sports leagues, schools, cultural institutions, the labor force, and so much more. In short, immigrants help Colorado thrive and Coloradans know this.

This recognition is playing out across the country as well. After four years of anti-immigrant rhetoric at the highest levels, the American people are more supportive of immigration than ever before. Poll after poll continues to demonstrate that the vast majority of all voters want a path to citizenship for immigrants including essential workers, farmworkers, Dreamers and TPS holders. They know that we need to codify what we all see around us and already know to be true: all of us are stronger when we welcome immigrants. Our communities are stronger, our families are stronger, our economy is stronger, and everyone benefits.

Yet, there continues to be a vocal minority who opposes a just and fair pathway to citizenship for people who have come to work, provide for their families’ future, and live in safety from violence. This minority seeks to demonize immigrant communities and derail sensible legislation to bring much needed reforms to our immigration system. Not only are they standing in the way of the hopes and dreams of millions of immigrant Americans, they are standing against the will of the American people themselves.

There are numerous bills in Congress that could create a path to citizenship for millions of immigrant families right now. Unfortunately, these bills already seem doomed to the limbo of a Congress paralyzed along party lines and populated with anti-immigrant politicians more interested in political theater than the betterment of our communities.

However, Democratic leaders have a critical opportunity to bypass this paralysis and create a path to citizenship through the process of budget reconciliation. This special procedure allows Congress to pass legislation through a budgetary process with a simple majority vote, bypassing the Senate filibuster and anti-immigrant obstructionism. The current proposal in Congress, if passed this way, could create a pathway to citizenship for thousands of immigrants in Colorado and millions more across the country.

This strategy, a brilliant move that reflects the will of the voters, must succeed. We urge each of our Colorado senators and representatives to raise your voices in support of the budget’s passage and work to strengthen support among your colleagues on both sides of the aisle. We have waited decades for this opportunity and our leaders must seize it. We cannot wait another year. The time is now for our government to finally recognize undocumented immigrants as the Americans that they already are.

Lisa Duran is the executive director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Action Fund. A granddaughter of immigrants from Mexico, Lisa has worked to create a more just immigration system since 1984.