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In 2020, around 1.2 million foreigners resided in Mexico. Of these, 65.8 percent held U.S. nationality, while 4.7 percent were Guatemalans and 4.4 percent Venezuelans. Now, both Guatemala and the United States share a border with Mexico, highlighting the case of Venezuela. The South American country has seen a massive outflow of its population to different nations in recent years. Specifically, Mexico was the tenth country that received the most Venezuelans in 2019, a list led by Colombia.

Mexico in the Latin American context

Despite being the second most populous state and third in territorial extension, the Aztec country received the fourth largest number of foreigners among the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, only behind countries such as Colombia and Argentina. However, due to its proximity to the United States, Mexico has positioned itself as the gateway for Central and South American migrants to the North American giant. For this reason, a significant number of family units and unaccompanied minors are detained monthly at the border. The issue of migration in Latin America has gained relevance due to situations such as caravans traveling across the national territory with hopes of finding refuge from violence, repression, and poverty.

Great dependence on remittances

In Mexico, the main reason for migrating is to seek work, a situation understood by the economic needs of the population that cannot be met with the country's job offers. In fact, almost one in two Mexicans is in a state of poverty. Therefore, remittances have become an essential part of the finances of migrant families. Specifically, approximately 42.9 million U.S. dollars entered the country as remittances in 2020. This positioned Mexico as the leader in the Latin American ranking of remittance reception. Despite this, this figure represented only 4 percent of Mexico's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while countries such as El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti had a remittance value as a percentage of GDP exceeding 20 percent.