Story highlights Party firebrands say they are not giving up but acknowledge there is little that can be done

Senate Democrats grappled with not wanting to be blamed for a government shutdown

Washington (CNN) Democrats on Thursday acknowledged that they had all but been defeated on efforts to pass an immigration fix and other priorities by the end of the year, with a short-term funding bill on track for passage.

Liberal lawmakers had said they would not support leaving for the year without their wish list of priorities, including action on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but have run out of time.

The GOP-controlled Congress is set to pass a spending bill keeping the government open through mid-January, and then likely adjourn for the year.

Democrats and Republicans have been negotiating on a permanent fix for DACA, a program President Donald Trump has decided to end that protects from deportation young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. Those negotiations will continue over the holiday break, likely by phone, according to a source familiar.

In a show of force and frustration on Thursday afternoon, a group of roughly 17 Congressional Hispanic Caucus members marched from the House side of the Capitol to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office flanked by members of the press corps, to urge him to hold the line on DACA and other Democratic priorities, including funding for children's health insurance, budget caps on domestic spending and support for veterans.

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