Mexico has let tens of thousands of people cross its territory on their way to the American border since early April, government data shows, a major uptick before the expiration of a U.S. immigration measure that has kept most migrants from being able to claim asylum in the United States. The increase comes as local aid groups and migrants say that over the last several weeks people heading north have been crossing more easily into Mexico from Guatemala, the main route to the United States, with Mexican security forces abandoning some of their outposts on the country’s southern border. The jump in people allowed to cross Mexico, coupled with the reduced security footprint, has likely contributed to the soaring numbers of migrants gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border as the Biden administration prepares on Thursday night to lift a pandemic-era restriction called Title 42 that has allowed the United States to quickly expel those trying to cross the border illegally. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry and National Institute of Migration did not respond for requests for comment about any changes to the government’s immigration policy.

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