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.

Rescue expert warns FlyDubai hijacking attempt shows US, allies are ‘playing checkers’ against terror threat

‘Fraud’: Rubio Puts Woke So-Called Human Rights Group on Blast for Stunning US-Israel Hypocrisy

WATCH: CDC director discusses US government response to Russian plague concerns: ‘We are protected’

NYT Writer Claims ‘Combustible’ Sophie Cunningham Is ‘Just Too Much’ to Be Caitlin Clark’s Teammate

T-Mobile, AT&T Share Prices Plummet as Musk Makes Move to Shake Up the Industry

Disturbing Hunger-Killing AI ‘Yum Slop’ Trend Sweeps Through Restaurant Industry

Minnesota GOP chair blasts progressive group over KKK-themed sign shown during Black House speaker’s remarks

NYC councilwoman blasts Mamdani over Italian Heritage Month post praising ‘communist’

Poland’s police warn of a possible plot to attack Prime Minister Donald Tusk

‘LONG Overdue’: Trump Calls for Ukraine to Oust Zelenskyy

NYPD detective gives update on condition after illegal immigrant duo allegedly stabbed him 7 times

Watch: El-Sayed Still Can’t Condemn Dead Ayatollah Khamenei, Man Who Killed and Oppressed His Own People

Wage growth lags inflation, making the affordability crisis feel even more acute

China is in bed with the world’s worst regimes

A new biography revisits ‘No Country for Old Men’ author Cormac McCarthy

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.