Immigrants working in Kansas will significantly cut back on remittances – money sent home to their native countries – in 2008, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

The IADB estimates that this year, Mexican and Latin American immigrants in Kansas will send $152 million home. That’s a significant decline from the $215 million that was sent in 2006.

The number of immigrants working in Kansas who will send money home also will decline this year, from 68 percent in 2006 to just 36 percent this year.

The decline in remittances isn’t unique to Kansas. While there won’t be an overall decline in remittances from the U.S. to Latin American countries, they will level out, after experiencing robust growth in the past few years.

The IADB estimates that immigrants in the U.S. will send a total of $45.3 billion home this year, compared to $45.9 billion in 2006.

In the 2008 survey, "The Changing Pattern of Remittances: 2008 Survey of Remittances from the United States to Latin America," the organization said declining remittances would have a significant impact on budgets in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

“If this trend is confirmed during the remainder of 2008, the number of immigrants sending money from the U.S. to Latin America would drop from an estimated 12.6 million to 9.4 million over the last two years," the survey reported. "Unless reversed, there would be two short-term negative effects: first, at least two million Latin American families, mostly in Mexico, would be driven below the poverty line, which, in turn, could drive even more migrants to leave home.”

The IADB said the sluggish U.S. economy, and the high price of basic goods such as gasoline and food, will contribute to the reduction in remittances. Also, the survey said a slowdown in the construction industry was having an effect on the Hispanic population, although it noted that most construction jobs added since 2003 are still filled.

The report also suggested discrimination might be playing a role in declining remittances.

The IADB did not explore whether a decline in remittances reflected any flight by illegal immigrants concerned about stepped up enforcement of immigration laws.

Steve Cisneros, executive director of the Kansas Hispanic & Latino American Affairs Commission, said he did not believe an exodus of undocumented workers from Kansas was occurring.

Rather, he agreed with the IADB that immigrants, legal or otherwise, are reacting to difficult economic conditions. He also said increased border enforcement was reducing the number of Hispanics that travel back and forth from the U.S. to their home countries.

Cisneros said while his commission supports a fully-documented workforce, Kansas could absorb additional population.

“I attended a session of the Leadership Kansas program and we were told Kansas could withstand a population of 3.2 million, and we’re at about 2.7 million now,” he said.

He thought the Legislature’s unsuccessful attempt to enact a tough bill aimed at illegal immigrants and the companies that employ them was the wrong approach to immigration reform.

“It’s a federal issue, and we have full confidence in our Congressional delegation,” he said.

The Week in Review