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.

Black civic group blasts Talarico campaign over canceled event: ‘Deeply disappointed’

Americans back Trump’s decision against livestreaming Nidal Hasan’s firing squad execution

Where to Get American-Made Ivermectin at a Price You Can’t Beat

Fox News Co-Host Accuses Kimberly Guilfoyle of NSFW Behavior, Claims She Was Guided by ‘Unrelenting Narcissism’

Democrats call for gun control after Oregon school shooter reportedly uses shotgun purchased by his mother

Pro-Israel Democrats, once seemingly politically invincible, are on the defensive

Rising Trump administration pressure on Cuba divides Hill Democrats

Trump’s Capitol Hill whisperer reveals secrets to president’s dealmaking as he heads for exit

CBS News Hit With $20 Million Lawsuit for Report on Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

Suspected Florida Publix slasher walked free from court months earlier despite victim warnings

‘Brothers’ is an appealing showcase for Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey

Bystander fatally shoots suspected teen gunman in deadly elementary school shooting and more top headlines

School Board Meeting Descends Into Chaos as Furious Father Booted for Reading Filthy Passages from Kids Library Books

Former Border Patrol chief recalls Biden migrant surge chaos as Trump crackdown delivers historic turnaround

Peggy Flanagan’s lose-lose situation on fraud culpability in Minnesota Senate race

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.