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.

Man Sucked Into Jet Engine at Denver Airport Had Lengthy Rap Sheet, Once Arrested for Attempted Murder

James Talarico enlists Barack Obama to help win over black voters after contentious Texas primary

Keystone XL Pipeline 2.0: Trump Signs Permit for Massive New US-Canada Oil Pipeline – Some of 42,000 Jobs Biden Killed Could Return

Singham-backed, pro-China group drops huge sum on Manhattan HQ as feds probe shadowy network

Inside the ‘digital lockdown’ for US officials as Trump arrives in China

Move to oust Nancy Guthrie sheriff fails as Pima County supervisors refer perjury allegations to AG

Marco Rubio spotted in Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One during trip to China, igniting memes online

Rubio wears Nike tracksuit aboard Air Force One in parody of Maduro capture

High school student with history of anger issues charged with murder of homeless woman in Las Vegas

Nebraska’s Pillen wins Republican renomination in bid for second term as governor

Lawsuit: ChatGPT Told Florida State Shooter that Killing Children Would Get Him ‘More Attention’ Than Targeting Adults

House GOP launches new task force, probes alleged Medicaid fraud in Ohio

Republican Ricketts wins GOP primary in Nebraska, advances to key Senate showdown

Poll: Rubio Opens Up Double-Digit Lead on Vance, AOC Leads 2028 Democratic Field

Big city Democrat mayor arrested at ICE protest faces voters in re-election bid

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.