More than 38,000 children who migrated to the United States from countries south of Mexico and came across the southern border without a parent have been released throughout the country since President Joe Biden took office, according to the official overseeing the process.

The figure represents the highest number of migrant children to be discharged from government custody at any point in U.S. history. Children began showing up at the U.S.-Mexico border in high numbers in late February, weeks after the Biden administration chose to stop turning away unaccompanied children. All children had been barred from entering the U.S. following a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation in March 2020 that the Border Patrol turn away adults and children in an effort to prevent filling small law enforcement facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.