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The increasing number of migrants on the southern border with Mexico is putting the US government under pressure.
On Sunday Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas called on refugees and migrant workers not to make their way to the USA.
"Don't come, the border is closed," he said, according to the US media.
President Joe Biden said he would travel to the border himself because of the crisis.
Since Biden took office on January 20, many more people have arrived at the border than before.
In February, the US border police reportedly arrested 100,441 people, 28 percent more than the month before.
In March there are around 4,000 a day. The number of unaccompanied minors has also increased.
In February alone, almost 9,500 were picked up, said the US border police.
"We tell the minors not to come," Mayorkas explained.
Asylum seekers are stuck in Mexico
Mexican immigration officers check Guatemalan women's IDs at an access point to the Suchiate River, the border between Guatemala and Mexico
Source: dpa / Eduardo Verdugo
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Because of the corona security measures introduced by former US President Donald Trump, migrants are not allowed to enter the USA.
In addition, numerous asylum seekers have long been stuck on the Mexican side of the border.
Biden had lifted a Trump regulation according to which asylum seekers in the neighboring country had to wait for the decision of the US authorities.
Nevertheless, so far only around 2000 of 25,000 asylum seekers have been able to cross the border regularly.
Because of the large number of migrants and refugees, aid organizations in Mexico are expecting major problems.
“People come, one after the other, and since they cannot travel any further, they will all settle down here on the border,” said Pastor Juan Fierro García from the “El Buen Samaritano” migrant hostel in Ciudad Juarez.
The Mexican government has, however, agreed to control the southern border with Guatemala more closely in order to curb migration.
According to the country's immigration service, national guardsmen were mobilized into the region on Friday to review travel documents and do health checks.