Fears abound amidst growing speculation on what Trump’s new government will mean for migrants in the US and for Mexico and its remittances life-line.
I have been asked by many colleagues on what the Trump administration will mean to the industry and to remittances in general and I have basically kept quiet, scanning the news for its cabinet nominations to catch a glimpse, under all the noise and non-sense, of what could it all mean for our industry and to all the clients we serve in the United States. And with so much influence in the world, what happens in the US will surely affect the industry in many countries.

Three articles that you might find interesting

As I prepare my yearly “10 Most important issues of the industry in 2016”, a document I have been producing since 2013 – that will be out the first week of January – one of the issues is, of course, the impact of the new US government on our industry. The impact will be in two fronts: one on migration and the other on regulation of the financial sector in the US. There are more articles and analysis on the migration issues that will come up next year as Trump’s cabinet nominees and the US congress prepare to make changes to the migration policies that Trump talked about in his election speeches. Most of the changes have been proposed by US Republican Party members for several years now so it is important to look at the cabinet nominations more closely to understand where is all this going.
In my readings of the past few weeks, the constant issue “on the regulatory side” is a certain push of the new government for a deregulation of the financial services sector. Banks are extremely happy to hear such news. But how this push for deregulation will benefit the industry is not very clear yet.

I want to point out to three articles, on the migration impact of Trump’s presidency, that you might find interesting:

• Trump Presidency Casts Gloom Over Mexico: Based on recent polls in Mexico that show the extent of fear & pessimism in the country, from the 4th National Opinion Poll we can deduct that the local population is extremely worried. From the Poll Report, go to Section 5 (page 88) and look at the answers over the US Election Results. Quite striking! Journalist Rodolfo Soriano-Núñez in his piece comments the poll results and gathers information from other sources.
• Mexico’s Priorities Under the Next US Administration: Besides the call to the Mexican Government to be more assertive & proactive, journalist Melissa Martínez Larrea signals the election of Jeff Sessions as Trump’s Attorney General as worrisome news. Sessions is the architect of an anti-immigrant proposal that includes ending federal funding of sanctuary cities, criminalizing visa overstays, and opposing Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The designation of Wilbur Ross as Trump’s Secretary of Commerce who will be renegotiating NAFTA is also a cause for concern.
• Trump Policy Remains in Flux: This is a great Dec 1st article from the Migration Policy Institute, the best source of US migration information that analyzes one by one Trump’s migration “statements” and how they might play out legally and politically. Changes will certainly come, but they might not be as easy to implement.