US economy dependent on migrants

The Inter-American Development Bank report revealed that around 12.6 million Latin American immigrants in the United States will send about $45 billion to their home countries this year.

The total estimated income of Latin Americans in the U.S. for 2006 is about $500 billion, and according to the report, 90 percent of that stays in the United States.

Donald F. Terry, manager of IDB's Multilateral Investment Fund, said that, if the U.S. government stops immigration, the United States economy would collapse, as the source of dynamism and growth for the U.S. economy would be lost.

"There is a match. There is a development imbalance, and there is demographic imbalance. Latin Americans need jobs; the United States needs workers. The equation is very obvious," Terry said.

"Young people who come from Latin America come to find work here because of the dynamism of the U.S. economy, but they contribute to the dynamism of that economy," Terry said.

The report showed the number of Latin American immigrants who send money home on a regular basis has risen from 61 percent in 2004, to 73 percent in 2006, and the average amount sent went from $240 to $300 in the same period.

According to the report, the states where more money is sent to Latin American are California with $13.19 billion; Texas, $5.22 billion; New York, $3.71 billion; Florida, $3.08 billion; Illinois, $ 2.58 billion; New Jersey, $1.87; Georgia, $1.73 billion; Arizona, $1.37 billion; North Carolina, $1.22; and Virginia, $1.11 billion.

The report added that Mexico will be the major recipient of remittances this year, getting $20 billion.