The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has revealed that “pseudo-legitimate” travel agencies are emerging in Senegal, offering migrants a "complete package" to reach the US border with Mexico. These agencies, based in Senegal's capital city of Dakar, promote visa-free travel to Europe, and then onward to Mexico. Once in North America, customers are connected to smuggling organizations that assist them in crossing the southern US border illegally. CBP officials have expressed concern over the dangerous methods employed by these smuggling organizations, which include transporting migrants to remote locations along the border, placing them on top of trains, or even forcing them to cross the treacherous Rio Grande.

The smuggling organizations have established a significant bus line in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora, dispatching dozens of buses daily to various spots along the US-Mexico border to facilitate migration. The CBP has emphasized that these smugglers are putting migrants at risk and has vowed to take action against transportation companies, including bus and van lines, utilized by smuggling organizations. Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller has called for additional funding from Congress to impose consequences on those who do not use established pathways.

According to CBP data, the number of arrests of migrants from countries such as Senegal, Mauritania, China, and India entering via Mexico skyrocketed to 214,000 during the 2023 fiscal year, triple the number of encounters recorded in the previous year. Senegalese individuals accounted for over 9,000 arrests in Tucson, Arizona, between October 1 and December 9. The agency reported encountering almost a quarter of a million migrants (242,418) at the southern border in November alone.

Representative Laurel Lee from Florida has accused the Biden administration of using Border Patrol agents as "travel agents" rather than deploying them to stem the flow of migrants. The CBP head acknowledged the significant challenge facing the agency due to the surge in encounters at the southwest border and stressed the importance of utilizing all available resources to ensure the safety of agents and migrants. The CBP is seeking additional resources to counter the transnational criminal organizations exploiting migrants.

The rise of these “pseudo-legitimate” travel agencies in Senegal underscores the global nature of the migrant crisis, with individuals from various regions being drawn to the US-Mexico border. Alongside countries in the Western Hemisphere, US authorities have encountered migrants from over 150 nations attempting to enter the US and be released into the interior. The traffic at the border shows no signs of slowing down, with November 2023 marking the highest number of migrant encounters on record. The CBP has called for more resources from Congress to address the crisis.

Furthermore, new data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) reveals that the immigration court backlog has surpassed three million cases. Additionally, sources report that Border Patrol has released over 386,000 illegal immigrants into the US with Notices to Appear since October. Republicans have criticized the administration for releasing migrants into the interior and have called for stricter asylum restrictions and the rejection of humanitarian parole. The administration argues that comprehensive immigration reform and increased funding are necessary to address the crisis effectively.

Negotiations are ongoing in Washington regarding the Biden administration's request for supplemental funding, including $14 billion for border funding. However, disagreements over asylum restrictions have delayed a deal, pushing it to January at the earliest.