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.

2028 Dem hopeful’s longtime ally exposed for deep ties to CCP officials: ‘Good friends’

GOP mail-in voting proposal could impact millions of Americans ahead of midterms

DOJ threatens to cut billions in welfare funding from states for failing to report illegal migrants

Pentagon orders mandatory testosterone tests for male troops 30 and older

Social media is Lindsay Clancy wild card that could tilt potential retrial to the defense, retired judge says

US military boards, searches and sinks vessel allegedly supporting Los Choneros narco-terrorists

15-year-old accused of firing into crowd during deadly Seattle mass shooting claims self-defense

Maine’s high court gives father final say over daughter’s church attendance

FAA seeks permanent airspace restrictions near Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as expert warns rules are ‘not good enough’

Watch: Black Entrepreneur Humiliates Jemele Hill on CNN After She Claims Capitalism and White Supremacy Are Connected

The primary is over; now come the primetime mistakes

Trump Clarifies Stakes of Texas Senate Battle: If Talarico Wins, ‘I Will Be the Last Republican President’

Blue state creates six-figure role for trans inmate services amid budget shortfalls

Vance’s mom fires back at El-Sayed over second family jabs: ‘Probably punch him’

Breaking: Mass Shooting in Downtown Minneapolis, Civilian Killed, Officers Shot

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.