Money flowing to immigrants' countries slows

[Jean]

Money flowing to immigrants' countries slows
Wednesday, October 10, 2007

By Perla Trevizo
Staff Writer

Some local money-transfer businesses are reporting a slowdown in the amount of dollars sent by immigrants back to their home countries, mirroring a nationwide trend.

"They come as often as usual, but they send less money," Mario Espinoza, owner of Carniceria La Michoacana, a Mexican store in Dalton, Ga., said in Spanish. "If there's no work, how are they going to keep sending money?"

Mr. Espinoza, whose clients are mostly Mexicans and Guatemalans, said he believes people are sending less money home because they are having a more difficult time finding jobs due to tougher immigration laws.

Georgia implemented an immigration law this summer that is considered by many advocates to be one of the toughest in the nation. Among other things, it asks for proof of legal presence in the United States in order to receive public health benefits, requires employers to verify the immigration status of new workers, and authorizes checks of the status of people arrested on felony or DUI charges.

According to a survey released in August by the Inter-American Development Bank and a report by the Bank of Mexico, a lower percentage of immigrants from Mexico are sending money -- known as remittances -- to their homes from the United States.

The percentage of Mexicans who send money regularly decreased from 71 percent in 2006 to 64 percent in the first half of 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank reported.

After years of double-digit growth, remittances to Mexico increased to $11.5 billion in 2007 from $11.4 billion in 2006, the Bank of Mexico reported.

Aaron Terrazas, with the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan organization that studies the movement of people worldwide and released an analysis of remittances to Mexico, said various factors influenced a slowdown in their growth.

Mr. Terrazas said reasons could include a slowdown in the U.S. economy, better accounting of the remittances compared to previous years or tougher immigration enforcement.

Javier Barceló, manager of Carniceria Latina, also in Dalton, Ga., said the business saw transfers stall this year.

"We had seen an increase in money transfers since 2004, but this is the first year where it hasn't increased or decreased," he said in Spanish. "You would think that it would keep increasing, following the trend, but it hasn't been like that."

Mr. Barceló said 95 percent of his clients are from Mexico, and on average they send about $300 per transfer, either weekly or biweekly.

Kristin Kelly, spokeswoman for Western Union, said the company saw a temporary slowdown in early 2007 in the number of remittances sent from the United States to Mexico.

"We have noticed an improvement on the last couple of months; from April to June, there was a 9 percent growth in the number of transactions, and it seems it is also holding for July," she said.

But other businesses don't report any changes in the number of remittances sent from their stores.

"We've had the service for about three years and it hasn't changed much, about 200 transfers a week, mainly from Guatemalans and Mexicans," Miguel Tomas, manager of La Guatemalteca, a Latin American store in Chattanooga, said in Spanish.

Mario Pedro and Mariano López, both from Guatemala and regular clients of La Guatemalteca, said they send money regularly to their families, but the amount always varies.

Mr. López said he sends between $400 and $700 a month, depending on how he's doing economically.

"It doesn't matter how much I send, as long as I send something every month," he said in Spanish. "They need it for their daily expenses."

Mr. Terrazas said studies show migrants send remittances regardless of their financial ups or downs.

"They continue to fulfill (that responsibility) even if it implies more difficulties for them here in the United States," he said.

Chatsworth, Ga., resident Patricia López, originally from Mexico, said she and her siblings send money to their parents every week, no matter what's happening to them in the United States.

"If for some reason I can't send the amount that corresponds to me that week, my siblings put (in) the difference and I make it up whenever I can," she said in Spanish. "But that money has to be sent back home; my mom depends on it for her medicine, for their food, to pay their bills, basically everything."

Mayra Salguero, owner of Mission Realty in Dalton, Ga., also said she and her husband send money back to Guatemala every month.

"We might not send the same amount every time, but we always send money to our mothers because they depend on it," she said in Spanish.

Remittances are Mexico's biggest source of foreign income after oil, according to various reports.

Mr. Terrazas said the slowdown in remittances to Mexico is a trend that needs to be watched.

"We need to remember that remittances flow between families and individuals," he said.

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[Populist]

Good. Any less $$ to prop up the corrupt Mexican regime is ok by me.

BTW, we should tax the &*^! out of the remittances going to Mexico. This would at least minimally offset the costs of illegals destroying our schools, hospitals, communities etc.

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