Roughly 8% of remittances sent from the U.S. to Mexico are linked to crimes such as money laundering, according to Bloomberg.
The figure adds up to about $4.4 billion of the record $58 billion sent in remittances to Mexico, Bloomberg reported, citing a study by Signos Vitales, a Mexico-based think tank. The revelation comes as illegal immigration at the southern border of the U.S. surges, with Border Patrol agents encountering more than 250,000 illegal migrants from Mexico between October 2022 and February 2023. (RELATED: Gun Used In Cartel Killing Of Americans In Mexico Allegedly Traced To Texas Man)
“There has to be an explanation for the astounding increase in the past few years. It’s impressive that it’s gone from around $21 billion to nearly $60 billion,” Enrique Cardenas, an economics professor heading Signos Vitales, said, according to Bloomberg. “There are parts that look strange, things that don’t happen in the rest of the country.”
U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Deputy Chief Raul Ortiz, who is soon to be appointed as USBP Chief, speaks during a news conference at Border Patrol Fort Brown Station in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
Increasing amounts of the cash are coming from areas of the U.S. that lack large Mexican populations, according to Bloomberg. For example, Minnesota has the third-largest amount of remittances going to Mexico, despite having a low Mexican population of around 200,000.
In Mexico, the remittances in more than 200 municipalities have exceeded the total number of households, according to Bloomberg.
Remittances from the U.S. to Mexico amounted to roughly $22 billion a decade ago, according to Bloomberg.
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