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.

After rough 2025 elections, top GOP hopeful says conservatism’s future runs through sound economic message

Media ‘complicity’ blamed as feds say Minnesota fraud crisis could reach $9B: ‘Shown their true colors’

Liberal Berates Target Employee Over Charlie Kirk ‘Freedom’ Shirt, Highlighting the Left’s Growing Intolerance

Police Chief Who Groveled After Discussing ‘East African Crime’ Uses Christmas Story to Pander to Somalis Again

FBI Director Kash Patel says bureau ramping up AI to counter domestic, global threats

ICE lodges detainer for illegal immigrant charged in brutal killing of New York taxi driver

DHS fires back at Senate Dems over ICE detainee death claims: ‘Trying to twist data’

Trump endorses Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman for New York governor after Stefanik exit

Gun jams as shoplifting suspect tries to shoot Ohio police officer at point-blank range in wild bodycam video

LA deputies caught on camera racing into foggy ocean to rescue disoriented paragliders

Vivek Ramaswamy turns to conservative youth to shape the movement’s next phase, analyzes 2026 races

Woman who filed a complaint against Epstein to Clinton FBI vindicated after DOJ release of files

DOT cracks down on thousands of illegal immigrant truckers as agency looks to holiday travel: Duffy

Cruise ship chaos mounts as deaths, crimes on board shatter illusions of safety at sea, experts warn

Second tanker seized near Venezuela as US enforces oil blockade

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.