The European Union's migration policy discourse has shifted towards externalization of migration policies to combat irregular migration, particularly targeting African countries. This approach focuses on large, dangerous flows of African migrants arriving by sea, neglecting the experiences of thousands of asylum seekers and millions of Africans who migrate for trade and work. The EU and its member states are making deals with African states, urging them to replace their free movement protocols with the EU's requirement to stop migration flows. This leads to prolonged displacement in border towns and camps, where asylum seekers and refugees suffer deprivation and fall prey to smugglers and traffickers. Externalization also contributes to human rights abuses against African migrants, perpetuating immobility among historically mobile African groups, loss of livelihoods, and increased human smuggling and trafficking.