• UNCHANGED: Despite mounting unemployment in the US stemming from the coronavirus crisis, migrant remittances to Mexico in April had only a slight 2.6% drop when compared to the same month last year. Mexico’s central bank reported today that remittances totaled US $2.86 billion in April 2020.
• COMPARISON: Just one month after setting an 11-year record in March, remittances to Mexico remained relatively stable in April despite the shutdown of large sectors of the US economy. Meanwhile, remittances to Guatemala and to El Salvador fell 20.2% and 40.0% respectively, according to BBVA Research.
• ENIGMA: “If one compares variables such as citizenship status, level of education and US state of residence among migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, there are no differences that may explain the difference in the flow of remittances”, BBVA Research analysts said Monday.
• POPULATION: The Mexican-origin population in the US is estimated to be 36.6 million, according to US Census data. Out of this total number, 11.1 million are people born in Mexico and 4.9 of them are unauthorized immigrants, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center.
