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The trans-Saharan migrations are analyzed in the context of historical human mobility, changes in international immigrations policies, and the reactivation of trans-Saharan routes. Migratory dynamics are first analyzed by taking into accounts the historical evidence of their early existence and their current social background. Tackling the evolution of migrations leads us to consider the volume of African migrants in the overall international context and analyze related policies. The diversity and reorientation of migratory routes make their monitoring quite complex. In Africa as in Europe, spaces for immigrants’ admissions are more and more hard to get to. The implementation of more restrictive policies altogether stands against the traditional smoothness of the flow, forces to look for new strategies and encourages illegal migration dynamics. The North of Mali, a space of high poverty, is at the same time a center of emigration and a major area of transit. The desert-crossing conditions are terrible. The Sahelian towns of Gao and Timbuctu are migrations gates, but the ambition is to transform them into poles of spatial redevelopment. They are all transit towns but are also endowed with a renowned urban history that can give them decisive advantages in the context of a well-planned local development.