XPost: talk.politics.misc, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns
XPost: alt.war.civil.usa
Senegalese migrants are illegally crossing the border in waves
with many relying on apps like TikTok and WhatsApp to plan their
journeys to the United States through Nicaragua.
U.S. authorities arrested Senegalese migrants 20,231 times for
crossing the border illegally from July to December. That�s 10
times higher than 2,049 arrests during the same period of 2022,
according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Many cross in
remote deserts of western Arizona and California.
Word of the Nicaragua route began spreading early last year in
Sengal�s capital city of Dakar and took hold in May, according
to travel agent Abdoulaye Doucour�.
He said sold about 1,200 tickets from Dakar to Nicaragua in the
last three months of 2023 at around several thousand dollars
each.
�People didn�t know about this route, but with social networks
and the first migrants who took this route, the information
quickly circulated among migrants,� he told The Associated Press.
The Senegalese migrants who�ve made their way to New York City
include nearly 80 men who authorities recently discovered living
in a cramped basement under a Queens furniture store. The beds
were so in-demand that only half the inhabitants can sleep there
at one time.
Fire prevention inspectors discovered the illegal boarding house
Monday night when they were called to 132-02 Liberty Avenue in
South Richmond Hill to investigate reports of a large collection
of e-bike batteries, according to the FDNY.
Gueva Ba told the outlet he failed 11 times trying reaching to
reach Europe by boat from Morocco as part of his quest to get to
the U.S.
In 2023, the former welder heard about a new route to the U.S.
by flying to Nicaragua and making the rest of the journey
illegally by land to Mexico�s northern border.
�In Senegal, it�s all over the streets � everyone�s talking
about Nicaragua, Nicaragua, Nicaragua,� said Ba, 40, who paid
about $10,000 to get to Nicaragua in July with stops in Morocco,
Spain and El Salvador. �It�s not something hidden.�
Ba was deported from the U.S. with 131 compatriots in September
after two months in detention, but thousands of other Senegalese
have gained a foothold in America.
Many turn to savvy travel agents who know the route � touted on
social media by those who�ve successfully settled in the
U.S.�and seek help via social networks, and apps like WhatsApp
and TikTok.
Some are motivated by Senegal�s political turmoil � authorities
delayed February�s presidential elections by 10 months � but the
sudden draw seemed to hinge largely on social media posts and
the spread of the route there.
Spikes attributed to social media have occurred in other West
African nations, whose people have historically turned first to
Europe to flee. Many are eventually released in the U.S. to
pursue asylum in immigrant courts that are backlogged for years
with more than 3 million cases.
As U.S. sanctions against Nicaragua�s repressive government have
increased, the government of President Daniel Ortega has used
migration to push back.
The Nicaraguan government hired a Dubai-based firm to train
Nicaraguan civil aviation to manage national immigration
procedures for charter flight passengers.
The U.S. State Department has demanded Nicaragua to �play a
responsible role� in managing migration, but that has yet to be
seen. Nicaraguan first lady and Vice President Rosario Murillo
did not respond to a request for comment on the surge in extra-
continental migration through her country.
Ousmane Anne, 34, left Senegal on Sept. 25 with a plane ticket
to Nicaragua, purchased from a travel agency. His journey took a
month � longer and costlier than anticipated. Mexico was
treacherous, he said, describing his traveling group as
frequently harassed, threatened and robbed by gangs.
Despite the enthusiasm back home, he said, he�d be hard-pressed
to recommend the trip to anyone who doesn�t understand the
risks. But he made it to New York, which has the largest
Senegalese population of any U.S. metropolitan area, according
to census data.
�I knew it would not be very easy to come here to the States,
but the hope that I had was higher than all the obstacles and
problems,� Anne said. �I knew the opportunities would be greater
here.�
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/senegalese-migrants- illegally-crossing-us-border-relying-on-tiktok-whatsapp-to-plan- out-their-journeys/ar-BB1jevKz
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