More than $69 billion dollars was sent by migrants from the U.S. to their home countries in 2016.
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That is more than has ever been sent outside our borders by migrants before.
Dennis Michael Lynch has the details.
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A new report reveals that Latin American and Caribbean migrants are transferring more money to their families back home than ever before.
Referred to as “remittances” by analysts, the annual money transfers exceeded $69 billion in 2016, according to central bank data compiled by the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington, D.C. think tank.
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The money has been a lifeline for the economies of many countries in the region since at least the 1990s when remittance tracking began. The 2016 tally is the highest amount on record, and an increase of nearly 8 percent over 2015.
Approximately 40 percent of the funds go to Mexico, and practically all of the money is sent by migrants in the United States. The recent surge is remarkable since migration from Mexico has slowed greatly. The number of migrants in the U.S. increased by only 1 percent between 2010 and 2016 to a total of 11.8 million. The median amount that any given Mexican migrant sends has also remained steady.
When Trump says we are getting the short end of the stick in North American Free Trade, is this what he means?