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.

Seth Moulton closing gap on progressive Democrat Ed Markey in Massachusetts Senate primary

Breaking: Bobby Cox, Manager of Braves ‘Teams That Ruled NL,’ Dead at 84

Two police officers shot, suspect ‘actively firing at police’ in Syracuse standoff lasting hours: report

Mob Attacks Indian Pastor and His Family as Villagers Try to Drive Him Away from Home

Virginia mother charged with murder after allegedly drowning her 17-month-old twin boys in bathtub: report

Trump responds to reports FDA chief Mark Makary could be fired: ‘Know nothing about it’

Trump Hikes Tariffs on Key European Import to Encourage US Industry

Los Angeles Drivers Facing $100 Fill-Ups As Gas Prices Soar

US Agency Releases Startling Report on Anti-Christian Persecution in Major Islamic Country

Inside the US military playbook to cripple Iran if nuclear talks collapse

Spain readies for evacuations as a hantavirus-hit cruise ship heads for the Canary Islands

California abortion pill suppliers plot workarounds ahead of Supreme Court mifepristone decision

Accused street takeover mastermind charged after wild stunts, machine gun chaos: police

Catfish Farmers, Undertakers, Miners Celebrate Major Trump Admin EPA Deregulation

Connecticut pro-Second Amendment group sounds alarm on Glock-style ban, fear Democrats will go even further

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.