52 Million Migrants in the USA: Migration and Money Flows Change America

Latinos don't just save their own country: Workers in the USA send money to their homeland.

For generations, America has attracted emigrants from all over the world. Each wave of immigration has reflected economic crises and political upheavals. About a hundred years ago, most immigrants came from Northern and Western Europe. Later, Italians, Southern Europeans, and Eastern Europeans followed. Since the 1970s, immigrants from Latin America-and since the 1980s, also from Asia-have begun to dominate migration patterns.

In 2023, around 52 million people born abroad were living in the United States-a record high. That accounts for about 15 percent of the total population. About half of them come from Latin America and the Caribbean. In just two years, this number grew by five million. The majority are entering illegally from Mexico across the border. This increase in migration has been a headache for every U.S. administration for a long time. With Donald Trump, migration has now taken on a new urgency.

Figure 2: The changing face of immigration to the US

Remittances: A Financial Lifeline for Developing Countries

The United States is the world’s most important source of remittances-money that migrants send back to their home countries. In 2023, migrants worldwide sent $656 billion to their countries of origin, with $93 billion coming from the United States alone. For countries such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, or many Caribbean island states, these payments from relatives abroad are essential. Remittances help cover basic needs, education, and medical care, and provide financial support for families during times of crisis. When entire countries face economic turmoil, remittances can help stabilize national economies, sometimes making up a significant share of GDP-for example, 27% in Nicaragua and over 20% in El Salvador.

Venezuela: A Country on the Brink?

Venezuela is a prime example of a fragile state in Latin America. Around 7.7 million Venezuelans have sought a better life abroad, many as refugees fleeing violence and political persecution. The collapse of Venezuela’s economy has led to one of the world’s largest refugee crises. Many Venezuelans attempt to reach the United States.

For many Venezuelan families, remittances from relatives abroad are the only lifeline amid a severe economic crisis marked by mismanagement, sanctions, hyperinflation, and crime.

Previously, many fled to Colombia, Ecuador, or Brazil. Today, Mexico has become the main transit corridor for Venezuelans on their journey to the United States. Venezuelans now make up a large portion of migrants at the U.S. border.

Mexico: Transit Country at the Center of Migration

In the past, it was mainly Mexicans seeking entry into the United States. Mexicans remain the largest group, with 11 million living abroad, most of them in the U.S. After India, Mexico was the second-largest recipient of remittances in 2023, receiving $66 billion.

Mexico has become the world’s largest migration corridor, with people from all over the world using it as a transit point toward the U.S.-often without valid documents. In 2023, about 782,000 people without regular status were in Mexico, ten times more than in 2020. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, another 360,000 arrived, mostly from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, and Colombia, but increasingly also from Asian and African countries.

U.S. border policy is becoming ever stricter, especially in election years, making onward travel to the U.S. more difficult each day. As a result, Mexico is increasingly becoming a bottleneck for irregular migration to the United States. Many migrants remain in Mexico longer than planned, putting pressure on the country’s social systems and infrastructure for receiving and transiting migrants. Mexico thus faces enormous social, political, and humanitarian challenges.

The US responds with regional alliances

US Customs and Border Protection now reports about 3,700 apprehensions per day at the border. In response, the US is cooperating with transit countries such as Panama and Guatemala, which, like Mexico, are burdened by migrant caravans. Mexico is also deporting illegal migrants back to its southern border.

US authorities are noting a new diversity among migrants. The countries of origin are changing-24,000 Chinese citizens were apprehended at the US border in 2024, an increase of 8,500 percent. Immigration from India, Senegal, and other West African countries is also rising. Mexican authorities, too, are recording more immigrants from Asia: in 2021 there were fewer than 300 Indians and Chinese, but by 2024 this number had risen to more than 12,000. As a result, these international cooperation efforts often fall short.

Source: (Vandana, Dilip , Eung , Sonia, & Akhtar, 2024)

Latin Americans as the backbone of the US economy

Despite all the friction, Latin American immigrants have long become an important pillar of the US economy. They are benefiting more than ever from a robust US labor market. Employment in sectors such as hospitality, construction, and healthcare has increased sharply since the COVID pandemic, with many Latinos working in these fields. Unemployment among them has dropped to 4.5 percent, and since the lockdowns, their employment rate is even higher than that of the native US population.

Quelle: (Vandana, Dilip , Eung , Sonia, & Akhtar, 2024)

Global hub USA: Migration as a balancing act

The US remains the most important destination for migration. But to manage the influx, it depends on cooperation with transit countries south of the border. These countries, in turn, rely on remittances from their migrants in the US. A complete halt could lead to economic and social collapse-and trigger new waves of refugees.

Despite all political resistance, migration remains a driver of stability-for both countries of origin and destination. Nevertheless, migration poses major challenges for the US: overburdened social systems, integration issues, and social tensions. Even if the current administration wants to crack down on migrants, time cannot be turned back. Demographic reality is permanently changing the United States.