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.

Trump Scorches 2 SCOTUS Justices by Name: ‘Democrats don’t really need to “PACK THE COURT”‘

Watch: Trump Blasts NFL Over Possible Amazon, Netflix Deal – Says Many Fans ‘Don’t Make Enough Money to Pay’

ActBlue scrutiny fuels new GOP bills to tighten election donation rules

Alabama AG makes Supreme Court play that could deal decisive blow in redistricting war

GOP lawmaker unveils historic move to ‘expunge’ both ‘maliciously false’ impeachments against Trump

Trump says Iran’s latest proposal reneges on giving up enriched material: ‘Are they stupid people?’

Developing: Virginia Dems Plotting Overthrow of Entire State Supreme Court to Save Redistricting Scheme

Two Israeli Soldiers Sentenced to Prison for Desecration of Mary Statue

WHCA dinner gunman pleads not guilty to attempted Trump assassination charges

WHCA Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen pleads not guilty, judge scoffs at defense’s power play

Footage shows moments before Frontier Airlines jet struck person on Denver airport runway

Democrats consider plan to wipe conservatives off Virginia Supreme Court: Report

Jeff Landry dismisses concerns about 45,000 discarded ballots after suspended primaries: ‘It’s not my fault’

Former Dem gov in hot seat for ‘complete failure’ in ‘INSANE’ early release of thousands of inmates

House Freedom Caucus vows ‘gloves are coming off’ as FISA deadline looms

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.