Amid grueling negotiations, the outlines of a bipartisan border security and immigration deal are starting to take shape, even as Congress heads out of town after failing to publicly unveil details of the package crucial to unlocking stalled aid to Ukraine.

The conversations between the White House and key senators have not strayed far from three key areas of discussion: tightening asylum protocols for migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border; strengthening border enforcement with more personnel and high-tech systems; and deter migrants from making the journey in the first place.

While the Senate broke for the holidays, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer was scheduled to return on January 8

(DN.Y.)

and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell

(R-Ky.)

A rare joint statement indicated that negotiations are making progress. They also met Wednesday to discuss how to advance border policy in addition to President Biden’s $110 billion war aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security priorities.

We all know there is a problem at the border, Schumer said before sending senators home. Our goal is to get something done once we get back.

McConnell said negotiations continue to make progress.

And the aid for his country is stalling

the

On balance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at his own press conference in Kiev that he was confident the US would not abandon us.

Here’s a look at what’s being discussed as key Senate and White House negotiators dig in in the coming weeks:

Heavy asylum applications

Senate negotiators have focused on asylum, through which the U.S. offers protection to people facing persecution in their home countries. The senators say they are trying to ensure that migrants who have a credible claim for asylum can safely apply, but that officials can also quickly turn away those who don’t qualify.

Critics often say that too many people who pass their first asylum interview ultimately fail in their attempts to obtain asylum. But because the immigration courts are so backlogged when the final decision is made, many have been in the country for years, making it more difficult and expensive to deport them.

Senators and the Biden administration have considered tightening the so-called credible fear standard used in early interviews to determine whether migrants seeking asylum were likely to get a winnable case before an immigration judge.

Immigrant advocates argue that the standard for credible fear is deliberately low, given that migrants interviewed have usually fled desperate conditions, have no legal representation, and are still shaken by their journeys.

Border security

It was Republicans who demanded negotiations on the border and refused to provide help to Ukraine against the Russian invasion unless Biden also agreed to changes to reduce immigration.

While Biden had initially proposed $14 billion to strengthen border security in the national security package, Republicans said the money was not enough. They want to enshrine policy changes at the border in legislation, some of which follow the lead of Donald Trump, the party’s frontrunner for the presidential nomination, who has taken a tough stance on immigration.

Still, billions of dollars in financing will almost certainly be part of any deal.

Border Patrol agents are overwhelmed processing migrants who have self-claimed asylum. Biden had proposed $3.1 billion for additional border agents, as well as more asylum officers, teams of immigration judges and processing staff. Advocates say the money for the asylum system is crucial to addressing the backlog in immigration courts and getting the process moving faster.

Biden has also proposed $1.2 billion for Customs and Border Protection officers and inspection systems to stem the flow of deadly fentanyl.

While the president also proposed funds to help communities across the U.S. that are taking in record numbers of newcomers, Republicans have resisted sending money to the largely Democratic cities that are helping house and care for the migrants.

Reducing boundary building

Time and again, senators have emerged from hours of closed-door discussions with an irritated conclusion: Immigration policy is complicated.

Millions of decisions, said Senator James Lankford

(R-Okla.)

.

a Republican from Oklahoma.

Underneath every big idea are a hundred smaller decisions that all need to be made, and they’re all complicated.

Senator Chris Murphy

(D-Conn.), Democrat of Connecticut,

said: It is connected. So if you press one side and the other side pops out, it takes time to get this right.

One of the most difficult problems to solve is how to deter migrants from beginning their journey to the US in the first place, especially from countries experiencing unrest, economic disaster or widespread gang violence.

Senators have discussed ways to encourage people to seek asylum before they arrive at the border, either in their home country or, if that is not likely, in a country they are passing through on their way to the US.

The Biden administration had launched a new system earlier this year that encourages asylum seekers to make an appointment through a smartphone app to seek entry at the border.

During talks, the White House has also pushed to maintain its ability to allow 30,000 people from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti to enter the U.S. every month if they have a financial sponsor and fly into the country.

The idea is to create a more orderly and efficient asylum system that reduces chaos at the border.

But record numbers of migrants are still arriving. In December, the number of illegal crossings exceeded 10,000 on some days.

Enforcement

Negotiators have run into problems during the talks when it comes to enforcement measures. One possible compromise would set a threshold for the number of border crossings, and once this number is reached, stricter enforcement measures would take effect.

Under that system, if the exceedances become too high

,

Authorities would close the border to asylum claims, allow quick removals of migrants who have already entered illegally, and detain some migrants while they are screened for valid asylum claims.

Funding in the package could also go toward strengthening immigration enforcement, including detention facilities, according to a person familiar with the private negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Immigrant advocates worry that some of the restrictions discussed could only spur construction

–

of migrants south of the US-Mexico border.

We are turning Mexico into a staging area for migrants moving north, said Dylan Corbett, head of the Hope Border Institute, speaking to reporters. Mexico does not have the infrastructure to deal with this.

They also warned that the expedited removal measures would incite fear among the millions of immigrants who lack permanent legal status while essentially turning Trump’s administrative policies into law, potentially making them more difficult to challenge in court.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona independent at the center of the negotiations, said that potential is here to stay

effectimpact

of their work hangs over the conversations.

A mistake here will matter for many years, she said.