By Juan Hernández
Remittances are a sign of the great love migrants have for their dear ones. The funds they send stave off food shortages in the homes they had to leave, pay for school uniforms for their children, buy medicine for their elderly relatives. From 2019 to 2022, remittances sent to Mexico increased by 39%, making our country the second-largest recipient worldwide. This growth has served, on the one hand, to reaffirm the great impact achieved by the resources generated by migrants. On the other hand, it has prompted a shadow of suspicion: some speculate that organized crime launders money through remittances.
The experts that I am familiar with say that it is ridiculous to think that money from drug trafficking is laundered via remittances of US$300-400 a month. We all have a relative, friend, or migrant acquaintance who has sent money to rebuild a temple, pave streets, and even save lives—not help drug traffickers hide their money.
A year ago I wrote my first article for El Sol del Bajío newspaper, “Remittances, a balm for the economy and its pain.” The idea was to highlight how these monies helped mitigate the ravages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. As we know, migrants not only sent unprecedented amounts of money to support their loved ones, but also helped reactivate the local economy. They often earned that money by doing the dangerous jobs categorized as essential. Today, some affirm that of the US$58 billion Mexican migrants sent in 2022, 8% (approximately US$4.4 billion) could be linked to organized crime. The critics allege that remittances have especially increased in municipalities that are not characterized by migration, but that are dominated by drug traffickers.
Although these accusations are becoming more forceful (there is talk of a possible US investigation of the Banco del Bienestar for possible «failures» in its anti-money laundering protocols), other voices affirm the opposite. In her article “Remittances are not from drug traffickers,” Viri Ríos, a contributor to El País, noted, “The pandemic changed the way money is sent. The border closure in 2020 temporarily prevented migrants from sending their money through informal mechanisms. This caused an explosion in the use of remittance services and probably a permanent change when migrants had to deal with the security measures of the formal service.”
Pablo DeFilippi, executive vice president of the Inclusiv Network and founder of the National Association of Credit Unions and Latino Professionals in the US said, “The remittance industry is highly regulated by both public agencies and financial institutions. The reality is that the vast majority of remittances are small transfers, generally less than US$400 at a time, which does not fit the profile for money laundering operations. Likewise, the World Bank and the Central Banks seek mechanisms to facilitate these flows, lower their costs, and reduce their possible illegal use. This last point is especially important. There is a general consensus that remittances represent a low risk of money laundering.”
Further, in 2002, Federal Representative of the American Union, Henry Cuellar, and myself, with the support of President of Mexico Vicente Fox Quesada and President George W. Bush of the US, encouraged the use of the Mexican Consular Registration for Wells Fargo and Bank of America, as well as the National Association of Credit Unions as identification to open bank accounts. Today, many financial institutions provide remittance services to migrants and have not expressed suspicion on the average US$400 dollars monthly that is sent as a form of money laundering.
While the controversy over remittances is being resolved, in Guanajuato we focus on studying migrant behavior. At the Secretariat for Migrants and International Link we have prepared a series of books, including “Migrant Remittances During the Pandemic,” where we document the impact these funds have had on the communities of origin and the families of migrants. This investigative work is in compliance with the vision of the Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo. He created the Secretariat for Migrants and International Link not only to be in touch with migrants and their families, but also to be the epicenter of migration analysis, as the United Nations already recognizes Guanajuato.
Finally, I am not oblivious to the pain caused by the tragedy in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, where at least 39 migrants died. Let us not forget that migration is a right, and that as such the states of the republic must ensure that this process is carried out in a safe, organized, and normalized manner. It is a task that we carry out at the National Coordination of Migrant Assistance Offices (CONOFAM). What happened in Ciudad Juárez highlights the migratory crisis throughout the world. Every week we learn of tragedies of equal or greater magnitude, such as the 59 migrants who drowned on the Italian coast last month. What we are left with, beyond love, suspicion, or pain, is the certainty that we can improve the lives of migrants.
For me this is a life mission. Migrants are not part of organized crime. They are our relatives and friends who are fighting for Mexico to move forward despite the great shadows in our country today.Juan Hernández is the secretary of migration and international liaison of the government of Guanajuato, and writes for El Sol del Bajío. This article was published with his permission.
Facebook @juanhernandez.org; Twitter @JuanHernandezS
