Money sent home by Mexicans drops

MEXICO CITY The Bank of Mexico says remittances in August dropped 12 percent to 1.9 billion dollars. That compares to 2.2 billion dollars in August 2007.

The central bank said today that remittances had reached 15.5 billion dollars in the first eight months of this year, 4 percent less than the same period the year before.

Remittances began dropping this year as the U.S. economy slowed and the U.S. government stepped up enforcement of its borders with record deportations and increased border security.

Remittances are Mexico's second-largest source of foreign income, next to oil exports.