In Senegal's capital, Nicaragua is a hot ticket among travel agents serving people who want to live in the United States. Many migrants take various flights to eventually arrive there legally and then journey illegally by land to the U.S. border with Mexico. U.S. authorities arrested Senegalese more than 20,000 times for crossing the border illegally from Mexico from July to November. That's more than 10 times that of the same period of 2022. Spikes have occurred in other West African nations, whose people have historically turned first to Europe to flee. The sudden draw of the United States seems driven in large part by social media posts by those who reached their destinations successfully and travel agents who know visa rules.
