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.

WATCH: Crowd sings ‘Happy Birthday’ to Trump at US Army’s 250th anniversary parade

Violent anti-Trump protesters force LAPD to take action as peaceful day turns chaotic

Top photos from Trump’s 250th birthday parade for the US Army

Who are the shooting victims in the ‘targeted’ attacks against Minnesota lawmakers?

Trump gets his first-term wish of a military parade

Nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests grapple with security threats following death of Minnesota lawmaker

Texas Capitol Evacuates Over Threats Against Lawmakers at Anti-Trump Protests After Minnesota Assassination

Iran Threatens to Attack US Bases as Trump Admin Officials Flee Middle East

Governors warn anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protesters against becoming violent: ‘You’re going to get arrested’

Lawsuit Alleges ‘Secretly Altered’ Vote Machines Stole Election From Kamala Harris

Senate GOPs carefully weighing controversial tax provisions before bringing Big, Beautiful Bill to the floor

One Killer Fact About the New IRS Commissioner’s Past Should Have the Agency Shaking

‘No Kings’ Protests Canceled Across Minnesota After Targeted Assassinations Appear to Be Linked

Former Postal Workers Charged for Theft of Checks Worth Over $80 Million

Who is Vance Luther Boelter? Suspect in Minnesota lawmaker killings identified

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.