Mexican migrants sending less money home

Across Mexico, families who depend on money sent from relatives in the United States -- called remittances -- are opening up lighter envelopes or waiting longer to get them. Read the McClatchy news service story here.

"Remittances to Mexico hit $23.7 billion in 2006, more than double the amount reported in 2002 and the country's second-largest source of foreign income, behind oil."

"But after years of double-digit increases, the cash sent back home dropped 2.9 percent in the first quarter of this year. The Bank of Mexico, which tracks the international transfers, predicts that remittances will register a 1.5 percent decline by the end of this year. That would be the first annual decrease since modern recordkeeping began in 1995."

-- Reed Johnson in Mexico City