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.

Arkansas cop tragically dies saving fiancée’s life just hours after proposing

Border K9 sniffs out 99 pounds of prohibited meat, plants and monitor lizard in suitcase from Thailand

Bear caught on camera perched atop New Mexico utility pole before reportedly suffering fatal electrocution

Teachers who once dated and share child arrested after classroom argument spiraled into violence: police

Jack Smith hit with criminal referral as GOP moves testimony fight toward prosecution

Trump salutes ‘great heroes’ as he attends dignified transfer of US service members killed in Jordan, Iraq

Survivor of Hamas terror attack in Israel slams Mamdani over ‘dangerous’ video about Netanyahu

Far-left ‘Squad’ Dems mix up Jewish colleagues in botched attack — then get burned by their own votes

Ethiopian Immigrant Arrested After Execution of 3 Rental Workers – Felt He Was Being Discriminated Against

Judge questions whether Hegseth’s testosterone plan undermines transgender troops ban

Newsom turns to Hunter Biden’s high-powered ex-lawyer as federal scrutiny closes in on his family, allies

Fox News Star Crushes Lindsey Graham’s Sister, Other Contenders in South Carolina Senate Poll

Trump gives emotional tribute to fallen Army Lt Tyler Feehan after flying grieving family on Air Force One

Musk Pledges $100 Million to ‘Historically Accurate’ Version of ‘The Odyssey’ with Mel Gibson as Director

Fox News Poll: Voters want major change amid economic and political discontent

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.