A growing number of Mauritanians—along with other West and Central African nationalities, such as Cameroonians, Congolese, Nigerians, and Senegalese—are illegally migrating to the United States using Latin American countries as their main gateway. Between January and April 2019, the Mexican police arrested 1,934 illegal African migrants, three times more than the previous year in the same period. In November 2023, 900 illegal Mauritanian migrants were detained in the US, pending expulsion.

Unemployment and poverty are the main drivers for Mauritanians attempting to migrate illegally, as is often the case for Africans. According to Mauritanian government figures, unemployment is estimated at 37 percent, and the average monthly income per capita is USD 138. Other factors include racism towards black Mauritanians and ongoing human rights violations, and the likelihood of persecution should they be forced to return. In 2021, a letter signed by 165 American non-governmental organizations called on former US President Joe Biden to grant an 18-month temporary protection status to Mauritanians on these grounds.

Although a minority among migrants, women are not immune to this wave of migration, as illustrated by the example of Souma Mint Mohamed Wely, a Mauritanian feminist activist who reached the US through the Mexican border wall. Videos on WhatsApp and TikTok showing Mauritanian migrants in Latin America—trying to cross into the US or already having reached the US—further incentivize young Mauritanians to achieve the American dream. For many of the viewers, watching their fellow citizens in the US relaying their personal success stories is an indication that anyone can complete a similar migration journey.

Reaching the US is, however, a very long journey for Mauritanians. From Nouakchott, Mauritanians can fly via Istanbul or Madrid to Latin American countries such as Nicaragua, Brazil, Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and El Salvador without a visa. Once there, they can apply for a visa, which they may or may not get. When they arrive in Latin America, their onward journey is often organized by Arabic speakers.

Migrating illegally from Nouakchott to the US is also extremely expensive. The migrants pay different sums of money to different people throughout their journey, including bribes to police at borders. Altogether, it can cost between USD 6,000 and USD 8,000 per person. To finance this, many Mauritanians borrow money from friends and relatives. Some sell their cars, houses, or plots of land. In some cases, migrants are forced to work during their stay in Latin America to fund their onward journey.

The journey is also very dangerous. From Ecuador, for instance, the migrants must travel by car or bus through the vast forests of Venezuela, Panama, and Colombia to eventually reach Mexico, their penultimate destination. According to the International Organization for Migration, between January and July 2023, 4,100 African migrants crossed the Darién jungle from Colombia to Panama. But not all hazards are on land. In 2018, 25 African migrants were rescued by fishermen off the coast of Brazil after a 35-day, 3,000-kilometer-long journey across the Atlantic on a 12-meter-long catamaran.

Local bandits are another danger. In January 2023, three Mauritanians were kidnapped by a Mexican gang who demanded USD 8,000 for the release of each kidnapped person. In July 2023, 22 African migrants—19 Mauritanians and three Senegalese—were freed by Mexican police after being kidnapped at the Mexican-US border. However, some officers in the Mexican police are also believed to collude with gangs involved in kidnapping migrants.

While most want to reach the US, some African migrants try to settle in a Latin American country such as Brazil. Because of the country’s more flexible migration laws, 26,207 Africans applied for asylum in Brazil in 2018—almost twice the 2016 figures.

This migration route through Latin America to the US shows that Africans are prepared to take risks for a perceived better future for themselves and their families. And as long as their living conditions in Mauritania, Senegal, and elsewhere in Africa remain dire, this trend will probably continue. African governments are primarily responsible for addressing this situation. Tighter border controls are one part of the solution; more importantly, though, is improving socioeconomic conditions in migrants’ countries of origin to ensure a better future for them there. Governments can encourage local and foreign investors to invest in labor-productive projects that would provide jobs that pay a living wage.  A crucial part of responding to the very complex challenges of irregular migration must also be sought at an international level with counterparts in transit and destination countries.

Many African migrants traveling to the US do so because they find it increasingly difficult and dangerous to travel to Europe. European governments should acknowledge that, due to their ageing populations and labor shortages, their economies require migrants, and they should open legal migration routes for young African migrants. In comparison, about 1 in 6 people in the United States is age 65 and over. The percentage of those age 65 and over remains, however, lower than Japan or European countries.

Given the growing trans-America trend, Latin American countries should also be better equipped to help African migrants. While most West African migrants aim to enter the US, closer cooperation between West African governments and Mexico would afford migrants more protection.

Asylum seeker centers could be established on the Mexico-US border to house West African migrants and even give them the opportunity to return home. Refugee centers could also be established within Latin American countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, which would allow African migrants to apply for asylum in those countries, instead of continuing on the hazardous journey to the US.