Kendal Blust/KJZZ

A map of the pacific migrant route through Mexico hangs on a wall in the FM4 migrant shelter in Guadalajara, Mexico.

In recent years, the number of people seeking asylum in Mexico has soared. Now, the country set a new record for asylum applications.

In August, Mexico received more than 13,000 asylum applications, according to Andrés Ramírez, the head of Mexico’s refugee commission, known as COMAR.

That pushes the total number of people seeking refuge in Mexico in 2021 to more than 77,000, surpassing the country’s annual record for asylum applications by 10% in just the first eight months of this year.

En agosto de registraron 13,066 solicitantes de la condición de refugiado en México. Al cierre de agosto se han registrado 77,559 es decir, tras sólo 8 meses se han registrado con @comar_sg 10% más solicitantes que en todo el 2019 cuando se recibió la cifra récord de 70423.

— Andrés Ramírez (@AndresRSilva_) September 1, 2021

Previously, Mexico hit a record high of more than more than 70,000 asylum applications in 2019. Numbers dropped slightly last year during the pandemic, but are clearly back on an upward trend.

Recent data released by COMAR show people fleeing Honduras make up the greatest portion of those asking for refuge in Mexico this year, followed by asylum seekers from Haiti, Cuba and El Salvador.

In recent weeks, Mexico has also begun receiving refugees from Afghanistan while using force to push back migrants and asylum seekers crossing it's southern border, many on their way to the United States.