‘So sad and scared’: Asylum fears mount as White House hints at border deal

Biden’s White House wants lawmakers to approve Ukraine aid, which Republicans have conditioned on new asylum restrictions.

Washington, DC – The White House has upped pressure on members of the United States Congress as it seeks a deal that could see aid for Ukraine approved in exchange for possible asylum restrictions.

Ornela Medom, a 28-year-old who fled war-torn Cameroon, is among those currently seeking asylum in the US. At a “Save Asylum” demonstration outside the Capitol, she told Al Jazeera she is horrified by what a new immigration deal could bring.

“I’m so sad and I’m so scared,” Medom said on Thursday, only a day after Republican and Democratic senators said a vote on a deal could be imminent.

Also on Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson suggested Republicans in the House of Representatives may take an even harder line on access at the US-Mexico border.

“Our lives depend on these secret negotiations that are ongoing,” said Medom, who arrived in the US through the southern border in April. “I am pleading for them to think about us”.