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.

Eric Swalwell announces run for California governor, vows to be ‘protector and fighter’

Missouri attorney general takes new legal aim at mail-order abortion pills over safety concerns

US-backed foreign broadcaster selling pricy news gear for pennies on the dollar to ‘spite’ taxpayers

Biden DOJ subpoenaed Jim Jordan’s phone records covering more than two years

Republicans Working to End Biden-era Regulation That Funded Travel for Illegal Alien Minors Who Were Getting Abortions

Florida executes Richard Barry Randolph, convicted of raping, killing former convenience store manager

Nydia Velazquez, first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress, announces 2026 retirement

Rescue operation underway after possible overboard incident on Carnival Cruise ship

Fate of Abrego Garcia hangs as judge grills DOJ on removal order

Thune attempt to alter controversial ‘Arctic Frost’ provision blocked

CDC Declares ‘the Possibility That Infant Vaccines Cause Autism’ Has Not Been Ruled Out in Major Messaging Shift

Major Fire Triggers Evacuation at COP30 Climate Summit

DOJ sues Newsom over California giving illegal immigrants college tuition benefits

Fox News Announces a Big Promotion for Star Reporter Bill Melugin

Maryland grand jury investigating handling of Schiff mortgage fraud inquiry: Source

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.