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.

MS Now’s Longest-Running Anchor Is Out As Struggling Network Pivots to More Reliance on Podcasts

House GOP’s SAVE Act rescue plan hits resistance from conservative holdouts

Trump’s massive GOP faith bloc raises red flag on Iran deal: Trust him, not his team

Socialists take fight west, target Colorado in latest bid to oust Democratic Party establishment

Fetterman unleashes on ‘dirtbag’ wing of Dems after far-left victories: ‘Orgy of socialism’

Trump supporters rip Amy Coney Barrett after Supreme Court setbacks

A California dog rescue hid a grim secret: more than 100 dogs buried beneath it

DuckDuckGo’s AI Assistant Claims Trump and Vance Have Died from Rabies

CBS crew attacked by multiple men near Chicago museum, suspects arrested: police

That Thing That ‘Never Happens’ Happened Again – NYC Clerk Caught Fixing Election with Oversize Garbage Can Filled with Ballots – Court Docs

Helicopter reports drone encounter near JFK hours after JetBlue’s possible drone strike

Trump taps acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling for permanent role pending Senate confirmation

Clarence Thomas Irks MSNOW Reporter by Laughing Off Questions at Capitol

San Francisco archdiocese agrees to $395M settlement with 530 clergy abuse survivors

Ex-NFL Superstar Chris Johnson, 40, Diagnosed with ALS, Can No Longer Speak

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.