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.

Zelenskyy Holds Closed-Door Meeting with U.S. Senators, Urges Them to Turn Up the Heat on Trump

Breaking: Social Security Administration Cleans Up Records, Correctly Marks Millions as Deceased

Latest US-Ukraine tensions could determine these battleground races

French PM says far-left groups forged ‘insurrectionary plan’ against government

Italy sending hundreds of soldiers into Milan to quell days of violent riots

Bruce Blakeman hammers Dem Gov Hochul, Mamdani over subway safety during NYC campaign ride

Food delivery favorite forced to fork over millions after DOJ alleged discrimination against American workers

South Korea Kidnaps American Christian, Ex-Diplomat Who Dared to Criticize Nation’s President While on US Soil

US Chopper Spots Speed Boat Carrying 4,000 Pounds of Cocaine – Central American Authorities Seize It All

China ties suspected in sprawling California pot operations as GOP urges FBI probe

American who fled US after allegedly killing pregnant wife could return within days with murder charge dropped

Bush family royalty backs Democrat in battle to flip Texas blue

Dashcam video captures small plane crashing on San Jose highway, injuring three on board, including child

Vivek Ramaswamy lags behind Democrat Amy Acton in race to keep Ohio governor seat red

Alberta votes overwhelmingly to remain part of Canada in referendum

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.