Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Wednesday criticizing asylum and migrant protections in Latin America. The report outlined “poor regularization and integration policies” between Latin American countries that drive migrants to attempt dangerous passages into Central and North America.

The report focused on Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. HRW stated that “restrictive timelines, complex procedures, onerous document requirements, and administrative delays” coupled with an “absence of clear social and economic integration strategies” in those countries was compelling migrants to move North through the dangerous Darién Gap.

HRW recommended three regional courses of action to mitigate the current situation. The recommendations include granting all Haitians and Venezuelans temporary and renewable protections, while asylum and integration policies are considered, reducing or eliminating burdensome visa requirements and creating an “equitable regional mechanism” in which countries work together to share costs and focus on migrant needs.

The report was produced in response to a large number of migrants from Haiti and Venezuela, as well as other South American and African countries attempting to cross the Darién Gap. The Darién Gap is an area of dense jungle on the border of Colombia and Panama. The area has little infrastructure and migrants face “serious abuses, including sexual violence.”

As the number of migrants attempting to cross the Darién Gap to reach North America has increased, Canada and the US have instituted migration controls that leave many migrants stranded. The US banned migrants who entered the country illegally from seeking asylum and has financed Panama’s efforts to repatriate migrants to their country of origin. Additionally, Canada capped temporary immigration visas over fears of a resource shortage. Mexico has called on the US and Canada to give more support to Latin American countries in efforts to stem the crisis.