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.

Alleged National Guard shooter worked with US government entities in Afghanistan, including CIA: Ratcliffe

Alleged DC shooter entered US under Afghan resettlement push Mayorkas vowed would be done ‘swiftly and safely’

Trump pins DC National Guard shooting on Biden’s post-Afghanistan immigration policy

Afghan National Guard Shooter Entered US Under Biden Immigration Program in 2021 During Afghan Withdrawal: Report

LAX travelers abandon cars, walk to airport as protesters block building during Thanksgiving rush

Suspected gunman in DC National Guard shooting identified as Afghan national

Breaking: National Guard Shooter Is Afghan National, Potential Terrorist – FBI

FAA investigating Amazon after drone cuts internet cable

Update: National Guard Troops Shot in DC Were Ambushed, Shot at Point-Blank Range

‘We Will Never Back Down’: Trump, Hegseth Refuse to Yield After National Guardsmen Shot, Sending 500 More Troops to DC

Bipartisan support, outrage pour in after ‘targeted’ DC shooting of National Guardsmen: ‘Horrific’

‘You Are Beyond Sick’: MS NOW Journalist Suggests ICE Arrests to Blame for National Guard Shootings

Fox News Politics Newsletter: US envoy gave Russian aide tips on selling Ukraine deal

BREAKING: Two West Virginia National Guardsmen in Critical Condition in Washington, D.C. Shooting – Suspect in Custody

Trump ‘took notes from the Grinch’: States sue over SNAP program changes

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.