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.

California professor accused of killing pro-Israel protester will ‘likely’ avoid lengthy prison sentence

Watch As Democrat Xavier Becerra Calls Migrant Kids Lost Under His Watch MAGA Talking Point

LGBTQ ‘lavender graduations’ set to take place at major Christian colleges, including one with a drag show

Fact Check: No, Kash Patel Is Not Having Custom Bourbon Made on the FBI’s Dime

Two-party politics ‘dead and buried’ in UK after local election bloodbath

Trump throws his base a UFO bone, but critics say it’s Iran ‘smoke and mirrors’

Democrats shy away from questions on whether Harris should run for president in 2028

Two ‘dangerous’ inmates escape Kentucky detention center, sparking multi-agency manhunt across region

Newsom’s ‘Golden State Start’ promises 400 free diapers per baby as California grapples with budget woes

U.S. military kills two alleged narco-terrorists in lethal strike on drug vessel in Eastern Pacific

Reckoning: Islamic Group with Terror Ties Set to Be Investigated by GOP

Trump Preparing to Fire FDA Commissioner Amid Nicotine Dispute and Pro-Life Outcry: Report

Video shows ICE officers arrest alleged MS-13 gang member described as ‘known suspected terrorist’ in Florida

Lawmaker Slaps Phone Out of Reporter’s Hand During Skirmish Over Data Center Story

16-year-old NC girl charged in triple murder of family members; arrested in Tennessee with 28-year-old man

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.