Latin America In Focus

Tucked inside the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill is a proposed tax of 3.5 percent on remittances that could have major consequences for how much money Latin American immigrants can send home to their loved ones—and how they send it. “Immigrants are going to absorb that tax in order to keep sending money to their families [or] they could change the channels they use,” says René Maldonado, coordinator of CEMLA’s remittances program and consultant for the IDB’s migration unit.In this episode, Maldonado talks with AS/COA’s Carin Zissis about shifting remittance trends in the region, how immigrants have adapted to maintain an economic lifeline, and the potential impact of the current political climate on future remittance flows.  For more of our coverage on the impact of Trump’s policies in Latin America, visit as-coa.org/trump to keep up to date with migration, trade, and more.And to learn more about the IDB’s research on remittances, read the 2024 report co-authored by Maldonado and check out thei