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.

Exclusive: FBI captures longtime fugitive in Honduras in connection with 2000 killing of Philadelphia girl

Retail records could unmask potential subject in Nancy Guthrie case as experts reveal ‘clothing is evidence’

Trump Religious Liberty Commission boots member after contentious antisemitism hearing

Hardline conservatives double down to save the SAVE Act

Trump Keeps Winning: President Takes Victory Lap After Latest Job Numbers Shatter Expectations

Indicted Dem Rep. LaMonica McIver Suggests Acting ICE Director Is Doomed to Hell as Hearing Spirals Out of Control

ICE director refuses to resign under pressure from Eric Swalwell not to ‘side with killers’

Tillis rips ‘political lawfare’ and praises grand jury after Dems avoid charges in ‘illegal orders’ case

Trump Was Right: Bombshell FBI Affidavit Released, Lists 5 Jarring Irregularities in 2020 Georgia Vote Counts – Some Already ‘Substantiated’

Nancy Guthrie search stalls after authorities release detained suspect

Hypocrisy: Mainstream Media And NBA Stay Silent After Kevin Durant Tells Fan: ‘I Know Where You Live, White Boy’

Super Bowl Viewership Drops Year-Over-Year, Still Sets a Record

Olympic Medalist Makes Shocking Admission in Post-Event Interview: ‘Worst Week of My Life’

‘GOP’ House candidate admits she’s actually a progressive in viral video: ‘Telling people the truth’

Vance warns Iran that ‘another option on the table’ if nuclear deal not reached

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.