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.

Nearly two-thirds of American voters back social media ban for kids under 16, Fox News poll shows

Trump set to address the nation in primetime White House speech as Americans report economic squeeze

Newly Declassified Emails Show FBI Desperately Wanted to Avoid Mar-a-Lago Raid, Begged Biden’s DOJ for Other Options, But Was Denied

Former Texas coach allegedly used AI document to groom teen with manipulation tactics: report

Scott Jennings Dismantles CNN Guest’s Insane Susie Wiles Conspiracy Theory with a Single Question

Senate Republicans block Schiff effort to force release of Caribbean strike footage

Maine ‘mama bear’ facing threats as parents battle to keep 8-year-old boy off girls’ basketball team

Trump on thin ice with breadwinners and MAGA over lackluster economy

WATCH: Doctor-lawmaker blames Obamacare for driving health costs higher

Creeps at PornHub Are Being Extorted by Creep Hackers Threatening to Publish Creep Customers’ Porn Habits Just in Time for Christmas

Several House Republicans Side With Democrats in Attempt to Extend Obamacare Subsidies

Four Republicans buck Mike Johnson to join Hakeem Jeffries’ Obamacare push

Global wave of terror plots sparks new alarms over the West’s growing vulnerability

Nick Reiner Had a Bizarre Interaction with a Famous Comedian the Night Before His Parents’ Murder: Report

Bondi Beach mass shooting suspect charged with committing terrorist act

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.