Mexican Migrants Sent Record $36B In Remittances In 2019

Instability in Mexico and Latin America drove a wave of migrant workers to send a record amount of remittances to their home countries in 2019. Mexico’s Central Bank reported that Mexican migrants working overseas sent home a record-high $36 billion in remittances in 2019, a 7 percent increase from 2018.

According to a study from the Inter-American Dialogue, between 2016 and 2017, remittances to Mexico increased by 12 percent, a sharp rise from previous years.

States with the largest population of Mexican-born immigrants rank highest in remittance transfers. The states with the highest transfers include California ($8.84 billion), Texas ($4.3 billion), Illinois ($1.4 billion), New York ($1.8 billion), Florida ($1.15 billion), and Georgia ($1.0 billion). California accounted for nearly 29 percent of the total remittances to Mexico from 2014 to 2017. During this same time period, the percentage of the Mexican-born population in the U.S. dropped slightly by 1.3 percent while remittances spiked to nearly 8 percent.

Beginning in the late 1980s, Mexico transitioned from a closed economy to a market-oriented economy. Mexico further accelerated its market-based economy by entering into the NAFTA agreement in 1994 and exports became a major source of revenue. Still, Mexico is highly dependent on the United States for exports and remittances. Remittances replaced oil exports as Mexico’s largest source of foreign exchange, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Platner campaign rocked with damning allegations from another ex-lover as Senate race heats up: report

Catholic bishops consecrate US, White House says Trump and Melania ‘join in prayer’ in ‘unprecedented’ gesture

Ilhan Omar Lashes Out at ‘Horrific’ Jerry Seinfeld When He Said Palestine ‘Doesn’t Exist’ After Knicks Game

Karmelo Anthony’s Father Blames ‘White Attorney’ for His Son’s Murder Conviction

Pima County sheriff says Mexican authorities have not made contact over Nancy Guthrie search tip

That Time Leslie Stahl Claimed Hunter’s Laptop Couldn’t Be ‘Verified’ as ’60 Minutes’ Finally Confronts Its Bias

Trump plans to deport Iranians to violence-plagued central African nation in new deal

Trump Admin Shuts Down Mamdani’s Attempt to Meet with Foreign Leader

Police: Father of Seven Killed on NYC Bus After Confronting Rider Over Loud Phone Conversation

FIRST ON FOX: DOJ sues Spanberger’s Virginia over laws kneecapping federal agents as mask war escalates

New Poll: Majority of Americans Want Every Illegal Immigrant Deported

Bill Cassidy goes out in style

Rubio gets somber at UFC event, says world is so polarized there are few things that ‘bring people together’

Mississippi teen allegedly killed elderly couple in their home before firing on deputies in standoff

Convicted killer Karmelo Anthony claims he is ‘penniless’ in appeal despite major donor-funded legal campaign

From foreign tourism, Mexico receives about $25 billion while only $22.4 billion in annual petroleum exports.

Mexico’s poverty rate remains high despite its openness to the international economic system. The poverty rate stands at 41.9 percent as of 2018 according to the International Monetary Fund. People working in the subsistence farming or informal sector of the economy are among Mexico’s poorest citizens and are especially reliant on remittances from the U.S. to pay for basic essential needs.

Remittance flows could remain high with Mexico’s economy projected to remain sluggish. The International Monetary Fund predicts meager economic growth for Mexico at 1 percent in 2020. Mexico’s 2019 third-quarter growth remained stagnant as well.

The rise in remittances from the United States to Mexico is happening alongside an overall downside trajectory in immigration from Mexican migrants to the U.S.

Across the wider Latin America region, remittances grew by 4.7 percent in 2019, according to a study published by Manuel Orozco, director of the Migration, Remittances, and Development Program at the Inter-American Dialogue.