A day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Capitol Hill, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are speaking out about the White House offering concessions on border policies to get a deal on aid for the war torn country.

Caucus chair Nanette Barragán, D-Calif. told Spectrum News she's "not at the table and there's no CHC Senator at the table," either.

What You Need To Know

  • The White House and Republican senators are negotiating aid for Ukraine and the southern border

  • Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragán told Spectrum News she is concerned the Biden Administration may give away too much in these negotiations

  • Congress is scheduled to leave town Thursday, meaning any deal likely won't come until after the new year

Barragán told Spectrum News she was “absolutely” concerned the Biden administration may give away too much in negotiations with Republican senators. "First of all, the conversations should not be happening in the realm of the foreign aid.”

The White House is seeking a $110 billion national security aid package that includes $61 billion for Israel and another $14 billion for border measures.

But Republicans say it's not enough, demanding the President agree to policy changes that would make it harder for immigrants to win asylum in the U.S., similar to policies under former President Donald Trump.

The exclusion of CHC members from the negotiations caused outrage on Capitol Hill. 

"A return to Trump-era policies is not the fix. In fact, it will make the problem worse. Mass detention gutting our asylum system. Title 42 on steroids — it is unconscionable," said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. at a press conference Wednesday. Padilla and Barragán published a letter earlier this week that they are "deeply concerned that the President would consider advancing Trump-era immigration policies that Democrats fought so hard again."

"We need the White House to hear us loud and clear," he added Wednesday.

Asked if there were any concessions the Congressional Hispanic Caucus would be willing to make, Barragán said, firmly, “the answer is no.” Republicans, she noted, are asking for passage of H.R. 2, the border security bill that House Republicans passed earlier this year along party lines — a bill she called "draconian."

"I don't think they have a real interest in fixing and making better what's at the southern border because it's a political football for them and a campaign issue. I think that they're in the business of trying to make sure they're creating more chaos,” she added.

On Monday, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., the lead negotiator on border talks for Senate Republicans, told CNN there was “no way” those involved in working out a deal could reach an agreement before the end of the week. 

Congress is scheduled to leave for its holiday break Thursday, and won't return until the new year. That likely puts aid for Ukraine on hold until then, despite warnings from both the White House and President Zelenskyy himself that this aid is crucial to the continued war effort against Russia.

Spectrum News' Maddie Gannon contributed to this report.