Remittances Abet Irresponsibility by Mexico's Governors

State executives pushing for U.S. immigration reform

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has released a new report analyzing the impact of remittances sent by Mexicans living abroad on the self-serving behavior of Mexican governors and mayors. These monies that benefit Mexican families take the pressure off local and state leaders to deploy public funds to uplift the poor in their jurisdictions. Not surprisingly, these officials strongly advocate a robust U.S. immigration reform which, if enacted, would doubtless increase remittances to loved ones in Mexico.

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The backgrounder, authored by George W. Grayson, CIS board member and Professor of Government Emeritus at the College of William & Mary, reports that billions of dollars flow into Mexico from abroad: $10.7 billion just during the first half of 2013. This windfall allows governors and mayors to spend their budgets irresponsibly, swell their personal bank accounts, expand the number of government contracts with companies in which their cronies and families have a stake, and enhance their princely lifestyles. The remittances allow the Mexican states to forego or reduce supplemental outlays on education, health care, public safety, housing, and nutrition – all programs that assist the poor.

View the entire report at: http://www.cis.org/remittances-abet-mexican-officials-irresponsible-behavior

"State executives grew more powerful while the national government suffered from Executive-Legislative deadlock from 1997 to 2012," said Grayson. "These state executives are unified behind a push for a more open border between the U.S. and Mexico, so the amount of gravy cascading into their fiefdoms will grow. While they build their powerbases and bank accounts, citizens suffer and drug cartels undertake public relations gambits in hopes of burnishing their images. For example, in the wake of deadly September Hurricanes Ingrid and Manuel, which left 139 people dead and 53 missing, the slow reaction by the state government found the violent Gulf Cartel providing tons of food and supplies to victims in the southern area of Tamaulipas, a state that lies directly below Texas."

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization. Since its founding in 1985, the Center has pursued a single mission: providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, demographic, economic, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States.

Contact: Marguerite Telford
[email protected], 202-466-8185

SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies

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