A report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday says that at least 138 Salvadorans deported from the US since 2013 were subsequently killed, usually within a year of reentry. The report also identifies more than 70 instances of deportees facing sexual violence, torture or other abuse.

The deaths were confirmed through official records, interviews with families and media accounts. The actual number is believed to be much higher due to under-reporting.

The number of Salvadorans seeking asylum in the US has grown by nearly 1000 percent from 2012 to 2017, and only about 18 percent are granted asylum. Many asylum seekers cite threats of gang violence. The report cites a “clear link between the killing or harm to the deportee upon return and the reasons they had fled El Salvador in the first place” in many cases.

The deaths reported occurred under both the Obama and Trump administrations. President Donald Trump has introduced a policy forcing asylum-seekers from Central America to wait in Mexico during the lengthy evaluation of their claims, risking deportation by that country’s own authorities where they would have previously received parole in the US while this decision was being made. Many Salvadorans already live in the US under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which the Trump administration has decided to end.

The report ends by listing six recommendations for the US government, including that the Trump administration to repeal the Migration Protection Protocol (MPP), the two Asylum Bans, and the Asylum Cooperation Agreements with Mexico.