| Summary: | The numbers of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa crossing in Latin America on their way to the U.S. are unprecedented, yet the issue is largely absent from U.S. and Mexican immigration public discourse. From 2015 to 2019, thousands of African migrants trekked through several Latin American countries on their way north, aiming to enter the United States through its southern border. Some settled in one of the countries they crossed while others reached the U.S. border to request asylum. When U.S.-Latin American migration relations changed under the Trump administration, many migrants and refugees got stuck in Mexico. This article examines the dynamics of irregular migration through the context of African migration in Latin America and how some migrants cope when faced with unexpected global and migration policy changes far from their control.
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