Immigrant money sent home is double US foreign aid

Financial Times ^ | 11/25/03 | Financial Times

[freedom44]

More than 40 per cent of adult Hispanic immigrants in the US regularly send money to relatives in their native countries, a flow of funds totalling nearly $30bn this year, a new study finds, AP reports in Washington. That money goes towards food and shelter, education, savings and investments. The amount far exceeds the total US foreign aid flowing to all nations - $17.2bn this fiscal year.

"Migration is now not only an escape valve, it is a fuel pump" to foreign economies, said a report released Monday by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Inter-American Development Bank. The economic downturn that began with the shortlived recession of 2001 did not halt the flow of money, the report said. Foreign-born Hispanics in the US sent $25bn in 2002 to relatives. The 2003 report said 42 per cent of adult Hispanic immigrants - about 6m people - regularly sent money to their homelands.

The study found 28 per cent of adults in El Salvador, 24 per cent in Guatemala and 18 per cent in Mexico received money from relatives in the US. Most of those receiving money are women. "It's going to sustain a big swath of the working class and lower middle class," said Roberto Suro, director of the Pew Hispanic Center. "During economic hard times, it's what keeps them from slipping into poverty.

Unlike foreign investment, remittances aren't driven by business decisions. They're driven by very close emotional bonds." Europeans immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century also sent money home to family members, Suro noted, but it was a much more cumbersome process. The study found people receiving money from US relatives are more likely to think about emigrating. In Mexico, for example, 26 per cent of respondents who received payments said they were thinking about moving to the US, compared with 17 per cent of those who did not receive any financial help from relatives.

© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2003.

[Onelifetogive]

"Migration is now not only an escape valve, it is a fuel pump" to foreign economies...

Sounds more like it's a crutch that allows corrupt, socialist (I know..redundant) governments to continue to exploit their citizens without everyone starving to death...

[StolarStorm]

Since we already have the people we might as well get the land too... invade Mexico. Our borders are practically open anyway. At least if we controlled Mexico for a time, we could clean up their messes and make them a prosperous nation.

[gubamyster]

ping

[texastoo]

"Since we already have the people we might as well get the land too...invade Mexico. Our borders are practically open anyway. At least if we controlled Mexico for a time, we could clean up their messes and make them a prosperous nation."

Your post sounds good. But the reality of this is the Mexico controls us. Their messes are here in the US such as crime, corruption and a welfare state. If we can't control the US, how do you propose we control Mexico?

[StolarStorm]

Mexico has plenty of natural resources... enough that they should be a wealthy nation. What they lack is a decent government and western culture. If we were able establish a less corrupt government and encourage education perhaps we could give Mexicans a reason to stay home... cleaning up the mess they've made here. Wouldn't be easy I admit, we'd have to change their society from top to bottom, alter their culture significantly. Corruption is a hard trait to remove.

[JustPiper]

And here we have it friends:

More than 40 per cent of adult Hispanic immigrants in the US regularly send money to relatives in their native countries, a flow of funds totalling nearly $30bn this year

[SCalGal]

<i>Since we already have the people we might as well get the land too... invade Mexico.</i>

Dibs on beachfront property!

[Joe Hadenuf]

As America sleeps.......

[B4Ranch]

Hispanic immigrants in the US regularly send money to relatives in their native countries, a flow of funds totalling nearly $30bn this year,

Mr. Bush had promised the American people to rein in government growth, federal discretionary spending. He said he would support the 2nd Amendment. I sure haven't seen any sign of these yet.

He had promised not to raid the $175 billion surplus in the nation’s pension trust fund except in times of war, recession or a national emergency. Now he has all three going and our trade deficit with China continues to reach peaks that our NAFTA supporting Republican Senators and Congressmen promised us would never happen.

He pledged that he would provide no bailouts for Latin American nations.

Isn't leaving our Southern border open 24/7 a bailout for Mexico? You're damn right it is!

Can anyone tell me why to re-elect him in 2004.

Because he's a better choice than Gore or Hillary? If that's the best you can do it is time for a third party!

[oceanperch]

gubamyster just a note to thank you for all your pinging to the Illegal Alien threads.

Just lurking now a days.

I was reading some other thread today and the posters were debating Indians vs. Pilgrims.

Alot of finger pointing back and forth.

One of the complaints is how the Euro Pilgrims brought illnesses that wiped out 95% of the tribes/American Indian and over populated them with Euro Pilgrims/new settlers.

I had a quirky thought which I did not feel was appropriate to put over on that thread.

My thought was how ironic that the tables have turned and now Euro Americans are being flooded by S.American Indians/Mexican tribes bringing all their illnesses ect..

I did not see anyone else point this out. THought I would share it on the illegal thread.

LOL Even the food we eat now a days from recipes (I use Sunset for new ideas) is all spicy S.American dishes. Which is frustrating only because I cannot eat spicy.
Sparkle of hope on the recipes though as Christmas meal this year features Prime Rib,creamed spinich, butter lettuce with grapes and nuts ect. more traditional IMO.

[gubamyster]

Prime Rib,creamed spinich, butter lettuce with grapes and nuts

Sounds delicious. Just don't use green onions!

[StolarStorm]

"except in times of war, recession or a national emergency"

We've had all three. Most people don't realize how much 9/11 damaged our economy. The WTC was a hub and the shock could have put us in a depression. Bush had no intention of being a Herbert Hoover. He primed the pump through massive spending and some tax cuts. The 8.2 GNP number seems to indicate that he knew what he was doing.

[MissAmericanPie]

"The economic downturn that began with the shortlived recession of 2001 did not halt the flow of money, the report said. Foreign-born Hispanics in the US sent $25bn in 2002 to relatives. The 2003 report said 42 per cent of adult Hispanic immigrants - about 6m people - regularly sent money to their homelands."

The amount alone should lay to rest the lie that illegals are just doing jobs that Americans don't want. An illegal doesn't make the kind of money this article says is being sent home. This amount of money comes from being paid under the table for jobs Americans need, such as construction foreman, construction workers, factory workers, on up. This article also proves that what ever phoney figgure the government puts out should be multiplied by three to get the real figgure. There are not four million illegals in the USofA there are at least twelve million, they are not sending twelve billion home, they are sending thirty billion. There is not a total of fifteen million illegals from all nations in the USofA, there is a total of forty five million illegals in the USofA. I dare say the total in Texas alone is closer to ten million than to three million.

[texastoo]

Mexico is nothing more than a "should of, could of, would of" country.

Mexico should of as they have plenty of natural resources. They could of as they are not illiterate. They have colleges and universities. Do you think they would of as they have been on this planet as long as we have? What is keeping them from doing something now?

We have shipped jobs to Mexico. They receive $15 billion a year in U.S. dollars. What more do we need to send?

[Walkingfeather]

how bout a 10% tax on all wired money transfers to south of the border.

[Never2baCrat]

Make it a 100% tax!

[texastoo]

It stands to reason the GDP is up. The more people you have, the higher the GDP. We don't have a clue as to how many people come here daily, legal and illegal.

[texastoo]

oops,GNP

[raybbr]

The 8.2 GNP number seems to indicate that he knew what he was doing.

This will prove to be a one-time shot. We have moderate (about 2%) growth the next quarter and begin again to stagnate.

I don't think Bush has a clue how run a country. An economy, maybe. The United States? No.

He is handing off billions to everyone with their hand out. I can't stand him anymore. He has no guts to stand up to the beggars in our country and the foreigners who are gutting us.