Remittance To Mexico Decline

The economic hardship that has affect the U.S. because of the housing collapse is also having an impact on Mexico. This year remittances, money sent back home by immigrants, have declined by 7% from last year's record level. This is creating great hardship in Mexican villages, as reported by the Washington Post. Aging parents had come to depend on monthly gifts from children in the U.S. But as they loss jobs in the construction industry or lose homes to foreclosure they have cut the amounts sent back their parents. Even some who have used remittances to buy homes in Mexico are now selling them to gain cash. One ironic twist, while there has been some undocumented returning the Mexico because of U.S. hard times, is that the decline in remittance may spur more migration north than discourage it. People without support become discouraged, and have no hope of jobs in Mexico. So even the tight job market in el norte looks better.