After a steady decline in 2025, remittances into Mexico are on the rise in a trend that appears to defy U.S. President Donald Trump’s border agenda.
Family remittances totaled $5.5 billion in June, an increase of 3.8% from May that marked the fifth consecutive month of growth, according to figures published by Mexico’s central bank on Monday.
The sustained increase in remittances — money sent by Mexicans living abroad back to family in Mexico — shows a certain resilience to Trump’s efforts to diminish them.
As part of Trump’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last year, the United States implemented a new 1% excise tax on cash and check wire transfers out of the country. Trump had initially proposed a 5% tax on remittances, but met sharp criticism from leaders like Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
According to analysis by BBVA research, the 1% tax that took effect in January appears to have had “no significant effect” on remittances.
Trump signed an executive order in May, dubbed “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System,” that demands financial regulators scrutinize even small remittances and calls on financial institutions to treat immigration status as a risk factor.
“My Administration will not tolerate national security and public safety risks caused by illicit cross-border financial activity, nor will it permit risks to our financial system posed by the extension of credit or financial services to the inadmissible and removable alien population,” Trump’s order states.
The impact of that order could be limited, according to BBVA, given the high percentage of Mexican households that have a “mixed immigration status,” meaning that at least one member could maintain access to the financial system and make money transfers.
Remittances to Mexico totaled $30.7 billion thus far in 2026, a 3.1% increase over the same period in 2025 when remittances were on the decline amid the Trump administration’s surge in deportations.
For Mexico, remittances are a key part of the economy and account for about 4% of the nation’s GDP, and even more in certain Mexican states.
Despite the increase in the total dollar amount remitted to Mexico, BBVA analysts note the quantity actually represents a decline of 8.3% compared to June 2025 due to the rising strength of the Mexican peso compared to the dollar. It’s also reflective of an increase in the average amount sent in each remittance, not a rise in the number of remittances.
Featured image: Western Union Money Transfer.
Image credit: Richard Allaway via Flickr
The post Remittances to Mexico rise in defiance of Trump’s border agenda appeared first on Aztec Reports.
The post Remittances to Mexico rise in defiance of Trump’s border agenda appeared first on Latin America Reports.