Applications for passports are spiking alongside fears of deportation.

Half an hour before the Steinbeck Station Post Office is set to close at 4pm, the passport office doors are already locked shut. Though this office has extended passport office hours to include Saturday, the office is still dealing with a surge of passport applicants.

Year to date, they’ve processed 11,405 applications, up from 7,944 in all of 2016.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service says the increase is partially because of the 2007 Western Hemisphere Initiative, a response to the 9/11 attacks attempting to strengthen border security. It requires all people living in the Western Hemisphere, including U.S. citizens, to show a passport upon entering the U.S. Passports acquired in 2007 expire this year.

Some Salinas residents say the surge is due to policy changes in Washington. Janet Solis, immigration community organizer for Building Healthy Communities, says many undocumented parents have children who are citizens. Since President Donald Trump was elected, anxiety about immigration policies has been on the rise.

“Deportation rips families apart,” Solis says. “Parents are wondering who will take care of the kids.”

BHC is teaming up with legal experts to develop a child care safety plan for families with undocumented immigrants. One component of the plan is a packet to be given to a child’s legal guardian in case of a parent’s deportation. It includes things like a child’s prescriptions, birth certificate – and passport.

Solis believes the packets will ease some of the burden on parents, knowing their children are safe.