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.

Armed suspect who allegedly shot at Secret Service officers near White House identified as Texas man

Panicking Virginia Democrats Now Think Their Gerrymander Will Fail in Court, Triggering Infighting: Report

RFK Jr. unveils initiative targeting ‘overuse’ of psychiatric medications, especially among children

Chicago pol says Walgreens should be charged with ‘first-degree corporate abandonment’ over closure over theft

Rich Actress’s Virtue-Signaling Met Gala Stunt Falls Flat: ‘She’s Protesting Herself and Her Friends’

FBI nabs more than 350 alleged child sex abuse offenders

Survivors recount Islamist massacres of Congolese Christians in terrorism report

Fulton County fights DOJ bid for 2020 election workers’ personal data

Hegseth shoots down Iran ‘kamikaze dolphins’ — leaves US question open

Rubio’s Trump admin juggling act grows as meme-worthy role list becomes reality

Priceless: Swalwell Joined Snapchat to Restore ‘Faith’ in ‘Democracy,’ Then Used It to Send Utterly Depraved Videos, Photos to Women – Accusations

Fed-up Justice Alito Just Leveled 5 Humiliating Insults at Justice Jackson in Withering Majority Opinion – Here’s the List

Alito rips Jackson’s ‘utterly irresponsible’ solo dissent as Supreme Court fight shakes up 2026 map

California gubernatorial hopefuls contend with back-to-back debates with finish line in sight

Climate seminars for judges face funding trail probe amid fears of outside influence on courts

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.