By Janet Murguía, President and CEO, UnidosUS

Work hard and you can get ahead. For the many working-class Latinos who work long hours, often at more than one job, and stretch every dollar, that no longer rings true. Nearly seven in 10 told us in a new UnidosUS survey of working-class Hispanic adults that they are falling further behind. The ladder of upward mobility is broken.

With a new legislative session ahead, lawmakers have an opportunity to act on these findings.

As we learned from the UnidosUS Economic Prosperity Agenda, the message from Latinos is practical, urgent and rooted in their everyday experiences. Forty percent of working-class Latinos say their economic situation has gotten worse in the past year. Seventy percent currently struggle to afford gas and more than 60% struggle to pay utility bills or buy groceries. The basics are harder to afford, resulting in growing economic insecurity. These solutions will require action from Congress to take effect.

That pressure is compounded by a mass deportation agenda that has resulted in a two-for-one economic and humanitarian crisis. Forty-four percent of working-class Latinos report that immigration enforcement has negatively affected their household finances, and nearly 1 in 5 say it has increased their household expenses. Among Hispanic small-business owners, 60% say immigration enforcement has hurt their business, often through lost customers and workforce disruptions.

Latinos surveyed want to see a demonstrated commitment by our political leaders to address the economic concerns that all working-class families face every day, and they support concrete solutions: 77% back raising the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour, 80% support universal public child care and early childhood education, and 83% support federal funding to lower monthly energy bills.

With the midterms just weeks away, 58% of working-class Latinos say no party, campaign or organization has asked for their vote. As the head of the nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, my message to candidates is simple: if you want Latino support, earn it consistently, not just in the final weeks of a campaign but while in office, too.

Long-term legislation from Congress would help provide stability for working families and the economy. Working-class Latino families are asking for the opportunity of the American Dream, and their concerns are shared by millions of working-class Americans. What is needed now is the political will to listen and deliver.