Latest news with #LatinAmericans
Newsweek
2 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Miami Housing Market Sees South American Takeover
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Foreign homebuyers are increasing their presence in Miami, even as concerns around the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs on the U.S. economy grow and Florida experiences a deep market correction. Buyers from outside the United States represented nearly half (49 percent) of all buyers of new construction in the Miami metropolitan area in the 18 months ending June 2025, according to a recent report by Miami Realtors. A vast majority of these buyers (86 percent) came from Latin American countries. "The demand from Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina isn't slowing down, it's accelerating," real estate broker Ryan Serhant, founder and CEO of Serhant, said in the report. This increase may have "something to do with global uncertainty, in particular in South America, where there is high inflation and political turmoil," Yuval Golan, founder and CEO of Waltz, told Newsweek. "To combat this, Latin Americans may be seeking to preserve their wealth in USD through U.S. real estate." Why Are So Many Foreigners Buying New Homes in Miami? According to Golan, a combination of convenience and financial incentives is pushing internationals toward buying new builds in the Magic City. "New development buildings often offer amenities like pools, gyms, dog parks, and may even have front doormen. A new build typically has fewer maintenance issues, making it easier to manage from abroad than older inventory," he said. This is particularly true considering the current headwinds hitting the Florida condo market. The state, especially its southwest region, has struggled with a sudden rise in condo inventory in recent months following the implementation of new building safety regulations, threatening higher fees for condo associations and owners. Under the new rules, introduced after the Surfside collapse of June 2021, condo associations in Florida are required to conduct regular inspections on aging buildings and fully fund future repairs. These requirements make newly built condos a safer investment for international buyers than many older condos in poor condition in the city. Another reason making new builds so appealing to international buyers, Golan said, is that some builders are offering hefty discounts to those willing to invest in the condo project before it's completely built. This kind of incentive has become more common among Florida developers in recent months, as sales have slumped and inventory has grown. The Trump administration's policies are also making investing in the American real estate market more interesting for international buyers. "This administration encourages real estate investment with tax incentives such as the Big Beautiful Bill, which offers bonus depreciation on real estate, among other benefits," Golan said. "There are also programs that encourage wealthy individuals around the world to invest in America to obtain a visa." How the So-Called 'Capital of Latin America' Is Keeping Its Nickname Miami already has the largest proportion of Hispanic and Latin American residents in the U.S., accounting for about 70 percent of its population. It's no surprise, then, that the city attracts many real estate investors from Latin America. "For many people living in Latin America, Miami is the bridge between their home country and the United States, where there are many cultural ties. This gives buyers from these places a sense of familiarity with their home country cuisine found in the city, and they can hear their language spoken," Golan said. "It builds trust because these buyers could very well have relatives who live in the U.S. or, at the very least, be able to speak their native language with real estate agents, contractors, property managers, lenders, and other people they would need to interact with to buy a property." Condo buildings in downtown Miami, Florida, as seen on August 1, 2025. Condo buildings in downtown Miami, Florida, as seen on August 1, there is more than just familiarity and an established community. "Miami is a desirable location for a variety of reasons. It has no state income tax, and many businesses are moving to Miami, bringing jobs for new residents who need housing. Miami is also a tourist destination, which brings money into the economy, and with Airbnb becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to hotels, people may buy condos to rent to these tourists," Golan said. International buyers—and those from Latin America, specifically—also seem to believe in the stability of the U.S. economy and the country's housing market "over long-term horizons," Golan said. "The USD has been one of the globally recognized currencies and is more stable than currencies in many parts of the world. In addition, U.S. real estate has shown strong performance over the last half century, so this, combined with preserving foreign-earned money in U.S. currency in the form of an appreciating asset, is appealing."
Miami Herald
05-08-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Who's buying new condos in Miami? How Latin American politics drives demand
For the major players in Miami's real estate market, the big event this August isn't in South Beach, Brickell, or even Florida. It's a two-day expo in Buenos Aires. Many of the newest towers rising along Biscayne Bay are pitched and pre‑sold in Bogotá or Brasília before most prospective buyers in Miami have even seen a rendering. Despite the ongoing turmoil over immigration policy in the United States, Latin American buyers are still a predominant force in Miami's housing market, especially when it comes to new construction. A report from the Miami Association of Realtors pooled data to track sales of new construction. The study analyzed nearly 10,000 sales across 18 months in South Florida and found that nearly half went to international buyers. Miami remains the No. 1 city in the United States for foreign homebuyers, and given the area's deep, long‑standing ties to Latin American immigration and culture, it's no surprise that most of those buyers come from south of the border. Still, the data collected by the realtors organization underscores just how dominant Latin American money is in the local market. Upper-class Latin Americans hoping to move to Miami or purchase a second home in the U.S. are certainly part of that trend in the data. But experts said that the market for pre-construction is especially dominated by wealthy Latin Americans who are probably more interested in moving their money than their families. Those buyers see a stable and lucrative investment in Miami's real estate. Within the nearly half of all new‑construction sales in South Florida that went to foreign buyers, roughly 9 out of 10 were purchased by Latin Americans. And in certain parts of the city — like downtown or Coconut Grove — Latin Americans account for virtually all international buyers. Eddie Blanco, chairman of the board of the Miami Association of Realtors, told the Miami Herald that the new report is the first analysis of its kind, made possible through a collaboration among developers willing to share their sales data. The numbers showed that foreign investors — overwhelmingly from Latin America — account for an outsized share of pre‑construction condo sales. Blanco said the data confirmed a trend he had long suspected. 'We already have a very Latino flavored area, similar climate, language and food, plus Miami's low taxes and a business-friendly environment,' Blanco said. 'Latin America has an appeal for all of South Florida — it aligns with the culture and lifestyle. ' Industry leaders said that political and economic headwinds in Latin America are helping keep Miami near the top of the global investment map. The new report posits that Latin American demand for new housing in Miami is in part driven by a rising tide of left-wing electoral success in Latin America, with the report even listing 10 notable leftist governments currently in power in the region, including Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil. 'Political and economic instability in a lot of Latin America — that drives activity in our marketplace,' Blanco said. 'With a lot of Latin America facing high inflation, our rising property values keep driving demand, especially for new construction.' Although the association could not immediately provide data proving a direct link between the political shifts and capital flight to South Florida, several analysts described it as a long‑standing, common‑sense trend. 'Anecdotally, we see this year after year — policy changes down South result in the flight of capital north,' Blanco said. For Latin American investors, 'Miami is a safe haven, political and financially, property rights are protected and there's a favorable investment environment,' Alicia Cervera, managing partner of Cervera Real Estate, told the Miami Herald. Political shifts in recent years in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and other countries have prompted investors to look north, she said. Specifically, Cervera said the data showed an immediate increase in buyers in the South Florida market from Chile following the election of President Gabriel Boric and from Peru after the start of Pedro Castillo's short-lived presidency. Both leaders ran on left-wing platforms. 'When governments in Latin America go left, buyers go North,' Cervera told the Miami Herald. Another factor sustaining demand: wealthy foreign buyers' tendency to pay entirely in cash, insulating them from rising mortgage rates. Weaker exchange rates for many Latin American currencies are also prompting those with capital to park it in U.S.‑dollar assets like Miami real estate. A focus on Latin America is key to success in the Miami market, according to Zack Simkins, the managing director of Miami-based private mortgage lender Vaster. Simkins said businesses like his thrive on Latin American clients, in part because they are 'more used to a relationship‑driven economy' and appreciate an alternative to traditional banks. Simkins stressed the importance to his business of events abroad like the Expo Real Estate Argentina in Buenos Aires this August. 'Latin America is where your sales and marketing have to be,' Simkins said. 'If you ever take a trip down to South America, the magazines on your flight back to Miami are going to be littered with photos of South Florida real estate projects.' The CEO of South Florida real estate marketing firm ISG World, Craig Studnicky, was quoted in the report: 'I have a sales team in Colombia this week. I have a sales team going to Mexico next week. We are constantly traveling to Latin America because there is clearly demand for South Florida condos.' With the dollar strong and luxury Miami condo prices rising year after year, experts agree there's little reason to expect demand to wane anytime soon. The pitches made abroad by groups like Simkins' and Studnicky's are backed by a financing model tailored to offshore buyers. Miami's pre‑construction payment model — often allowing deposits over several years — is a major selling point, Cervera said, because it lets buyers lock in a dollar‑denominated asset before prices climb further. 'Oftentimes these Latin American buyers are focusing on pre-construction because it's an investment vehicle that allows them to move money over time,' Cervera said. 'They're less active in the resale market. These people aren't necessarily moving to Miami — or at least not moving to Miami tomorrow.' Real estate industry veterans say U.S. politics — especially the recent policy changes under President Donald Trump's administration — have had an impact on foreign buying, though not in the way many assume. Latin American demand for Miami property remains strong, especially among affluent condo buyers. Cervera said the data contradicts alarmist headlines about foreign capital fleeing the U.S., showing instead that in South Florida, international buyers are growing their share. But one segment of foreign demand was shown to have cooled: Canadians. 'The reality is that the foreign nationals who are actually more sensitive to immigration crackdowns and the emotional perception of what the [Trump] administration might be doing, whether it's right or wrong — are Canadians,' Simkins said. 'It's Canadians who've pulled back — they're the foreigners walking away from deals and selling their South Florida properties.' Fernando de Núñez y Lugones, the co-founder of Miami-based developer Vertical Developments, said it's likely that recent political frictions are to blame for the Canadian share of Florida's foreign buyers slipping. 'They don't appreciate the rhetoric suggesting Canada could become a new U.S. state,' Núñez y Lugones said. 'Canada has been an important market but now they're putting themselves on the sidelines, taking themselves out of the game.' For all the focus on international money, domestic buyers still make up 51% of Miami's new‑construction sales. Many are fleeing high‑tax, high‑cost states like California and New York, lured by Florida's lower taxes, its year‑round summer and — compared to other global cities — more affordable property prices. Núñez y Lugones stressed that overall, it's domestic demand that's becoming more important to the Miami market. Ten years ago, he said, 'north of 70%' of Miami real estate sales went to foreign nationals, meaning that today's 49% share represents a significant drop over time, a trend he attributed to Latin American currency devaluations and soaring property values in South Florida. 'A lot of domestic buyers are corporate relocations, people leaving states like California and New York for Miami,' Núñez y Lugones said. 'In the long-term, the U.S. domestic market is becoming more important for Miami and international buyers less so.' Still, experts say foreign demand will continue to shape the skyline, even if U.S. political controversies keep on dominating the headlines. 'Foreign demand is not winding down — it's as strong as ever and we see no reason to think it'll be less strong in the future,' Cervera said. 'Miami is a major city on the global stage and there will only be more diversification in our foreign demand, coming not just from Latin America but also from Europe and the Middle East.'
Yahoo
29-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BTG Pactual to acquire HSBC operations in Uruguay for $175m
Brazilian bank BTG Pactual has brokered a deal to acquire HSBC's operations in Uruguay, marking its entry into the Uruguayan market. The deal, valued at $175m, encompasses both equity and additional equity instruments, with adjustments to be made based on changes in equity until the transaction is finalised. At the end of 2024, HSBC operated five branches in Uruguay, with a net worth of $144m and $47m in additional capital instruments, totalling $191m in capital. Following the acquisition, BTG Pactual plans to provide a range of services in retail banking, corporate and SME lending, investment banking, and wealth management for individuals and businesses in Uruguay. Rodrigo Goes, a partner at BTG Pactual, will oversee operations in the country, leveraging his experience from the bank's activities in other Latin American nations, including Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina. BTG Pactual CEO Roberto Sallouti said: 'The acquisition of HSBC in Uruguay is an important part of our internationalisation strategy and strengthens our presence in the region. 'We want to be the bank of Latin Americans, with the full service offer and the quality already recognised of BTG Pactual. We continue to grow in a solid and consistent way and will bring solutions that add security, technology and excellence to the Uruguayan market.' The completion of the acquisition is contingent upon meeting specific conditions, including obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. BTG Pactual has been actively expanding its international footprint, having initiated the acquisition of M.Y. Safra, a bank based in the US, to enhance services for Latin Americans in that region. The bank also established BTG Pactual Europe after acquiring FIS Privatbank in Luxembourg, further solidifying its presence in Europe, with offices in Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Brazil, BTG Pactual offers financial solutions across various sectors, including investment banking, corporate and SME lending, sales and trading, asset management, and personal banking. The BTG Pactual Group also holds investments in several subsidiaries, including Banco PAN, its consumer banking division. "BTG Pactual to acquire HSBC operations in Uruguay for $175m" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Connectez-vous pour accéder à votre portefeuille
Miami Herald
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Justice Department, driven by Trump policy, plans to go after naturalized U.S. citizens
In his all-out war on illegal immigration, President Donald Trump has branded immigrants as 'criminals,' 'invaders' and 'predators,' as his administration targets millions of Haitians, Latin Americans, gang members and foreign college students for deportation. Now, the president has directed the Justice Department to bolster its resources in a major crackdown on naturalized citizens suspected of unlawfully obtaining their U.S. citizenship. According to a recent memo, the department plans to focus not only on individuals who may have lied about a crime or having done something illegal during the naturalization process. But authorities also plan to focus on others who may have committed a crime after becoming citizens — a generally untested legal frontier. Citing Trump's policy objectives in the June 11 memo, the head of DOJ's Civil Division instructed government lawyers to go after naturalized citizens who pose a potential danger to national security, such as acts of terrorism or espionage, violated human rights, engaged in international drug trafficking or committed felonies that were not disclosed during the naturalization application. The DOJ list of priority targets, backed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, even includes naturalized citizens who have been convicted of defrauding the U.S. government, such as Medicare, Medicaid and COVID-19 loan programs. 'These categories are intended to guide the Civil Division in prioritizing which cases to pursue; however, these categories do not limit the Civil Division from pursuing any particular case,' Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate wrote in the memo, pointing to an expansive interpretation of laws on the revocation of naturalization. A range of critics, including immigration and defense attorneys, say the Justice Department's new 'priorities for denaturalization cases' are extremely broad and vague — allowing the Trump administration to target any number of naturalized citizens for various offenses that may fall outside the scope of the law, before trying to deport them to their native country. Ultimately, a federal judge must decide on any government bid to revoke the status of a naturalized citizen, a long process involving likely appeals. 'Traditionally, the law was intended to apply to individuals who committed an unlawful act before becoming naturalized citizens—particularly if that act was not disclosed during the naturalization process or if there was a material misrepresentation on the application,' Miami immigration attorney Steven Goldstein told the Miami Herald. 'What appears to be happening now is an effort to broaden the law's scope, targeting conduct that occurs at any point after naturalization, based on interpretations laid out in the memo,' said Goldstein, a former federal prosecutor with the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service. 'This administration has aggressively expanded the reach of immigration enforcement — and they've shown they're unafraid to defend these expansions in court.' The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers condemned the Justice Department's new directive. 'The Trump Administration's push to revoke citizenship is alarming, and raises serious Fourteenth Amendment concerns,' group president Christopher Wellborn said in a statement. 'Although the memo purports to target concealment of earlier offenses, the language suggests that any offense, at any time, may be used to justify denaturalization,' he said. 'This is particularly concerning given the administration's reliance on vague claims of gang affiliation in deportations.' The impact of the new DOJ policy aimed at U.S. citizens who were born in a foreign country is unclear. According to the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank, the United States has about 24.5 million naturalized citizens, a little more than half of the country's immigrant population. Historically, the Justice Department has zeroed in on Nazi collaborators, Communist party members and spies for denaturalization if they 'illegally procured' their U.S. citizenship, including 'by concealment of a material act or by willful misrepresentation,' according to federal law. Denaturalization was commonly used during the McCarthy era of the late 1940s and early 1950s, and expanded during the Obama administration and Trump's first term in office. The country's latest denaturalization case occurred in mid-June when a federal judge revoked the citizenship of Elliott Duke, an American military veteran from the U.K. who was convicted a decade ago of receiving and possessing child-porn images while stationed in Germany — a crime he did not disclose on his naturalization application before becoming a U.S. citizen in 2013. Trump and Mamdani The issue became even more heated after the Trump administration raised the possibility of stripping Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral candidate for New York City, of his U.S. citizenship as part of the crackdown against foreign-born citizens convicted of certain offenses. The spurious allegation, known to be false, is that Mamdani may have concealed his support for 'terrorism' during the naturalization process. Mamdani, 33, who calls himself a Democratic socialist, was born in Uganda to ethnic Indian parents, became a U.S. citizen in 2018 and has attracted widespread media attention over his vocal support for Palestinian rights. Trump, during a visit last week to the new Everglades detention facility called Alligator Alcatraz, was asked about Mamdani's pledge to 'stop masked' Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents 'from deporting our neighbors.' Trump responded: 'Well, then, we'll have to arrest him.' Mamdani posted a statement on X: 'The President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.' Miami test case Longtime North Miami immigration attorney Andre Pierre, who toiled for years on a landmark denaturalization case, said he has seen both Democratic and Republican administrations pursue aggressive immigration policies — but no president has made the issue as controversial and visible as Trump. Pierre said Trump ran for re-election on the campaign promise of ridding the country of illegal immigrants who have been convicted of committing crimes, along with gang members from El Salvador and Venezuela. But as soon as he was sworn in as president for a second term, he said, Trump started going after everyday, working-class Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and other immigrants with temporary protected status or humanitarian parole. 'A lot of people in these communities voted for for him and didn't think he was going to go that far,' Pierre told the Herald. Pierre said it was only a matter of time before the Trump administration would zero in on naturalized foreign-born citizens in the United States. But after reviewing the Justice Department's list of priorities for denaturalization cases, he came away dismayed. 'This memo is shocking,' Pierre said. 'But I don't see a lot of evidence supporting the kind of cases they want to go after.' Decades ago, Pierre represented a Haitian restaurant owner in Miami who applied for naturalization in November 1994, was approved in February 1996 and took the oath of allegiance and became a naturalized citizen in April 1996. But that fall, Lionel Jean-Baptiste was arrested on cocaine distribution charges, convicted at trial and sentenced to eight years in prison. Evidence showed that Jean-Baptiste committed the crime in March 1995 while his application for naturalization was still awaiting approval by the U.S. government — a fact that would ultimately undo his citizenship. After his conviction, government lawyers moved to revoke his naturalization status in what was considered to be a 'test' case, claiming he illegally procured his citizenship because he failed to show 'good moral character' during the application process. A federal trial judge agreed — a decision affirmed in 2005 by a federal appeals court in Atlanta. The key issue was whether the mere allegation of criminal activity against the Haitian immigrant demonstrated a lack of good moral character, a requirement for naturalization. 'The case dragged on for years,' Pierre said. 'It went all the way up to the Supreme Court.' After Jean-Baptiste, 77, lost his naturalization status, Immigration and Customs Enforcement was then able to take the next step of deporting him to Haiti. U.S. v. Fedorenko The Justice Department's new memo on denaturalization policies suggests that government lawyers might be able to pick ripe cases and expedite naturalized citizens as part of the Trump administration's aggressive goal of deporting millions of illegal immigrants. But a historic South Florida case that lasted for years suggests otherwise, because of the extraordinary due process afforded the defendant: Feodor Fedorenko, a former guard at the infamous Treblinka death camp in Poland, where the Nazis killed about 900,000 Jews during the Holocaust. When the Ukrainian-born Fedorenko applied for a visa to enter the United States in 1949, he lied about his activities during the war. He was granted a visa and lived in the U.S. under the radar for about 20 years. He then applied for U.S. citizenship and once again lied about his activities during the war and failed to disclose his collaboration with the Nazis in carrying out war crimes. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen and continued with his life working at a factory in Connecticut — until his retirement in Miami Beach. Authorities caught up with him. In 1978, federal prosecutors moved to strip Fedorenko of citizenship at trial before U.S. District Judge Norman Roettger in Fort Lauderdale. Fedorenko's case, which was cited several times in the Jean-Baptiste ruling by the appeals court, featured dramatic testimony by a half-dozen Jewish survivors of Treblinka who were living in Israel, by Fedorenko himself and by character witnesses. When asked about the gas chambers at the camp, Fedorenko testified that he never went near them, though he could see them from the guard tower where he was stationed occasionally, according to 2014 book, 'Forgotten Trials of the Holocaust.' Fedorenko, who considered himself a 'prisoner of war' even though he worked as a private in the German army, acknowledged that the Germans gave him a gun. But he denied that he ever whipped or shot an inmate. The lead Justice Department lawyer, Jon Sale, who had been an assistant special Watergate prosecutor, was tasked with proving by 'clear and convincing' evidence that Fedorenko illegally procured his citizenship by hiding his past as a Nazi guard from U.S. immigration authorities. But in the end, Roettger rejected the testimony of the Treblinka survivors and spared Fedorenko from being denaturalized. Although Roettger was not entirely convinced of Fedorenko's 'do no evil' depiction of himself as a Treblinka guard, the judge never took the next step of finding that his denial of what witnesses said about him was also untrue. Sale's team appealed, and the judge's ruling was overturned in 1979. Two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that ruling, leading to the former Nazi guard's denaturalization. 'Even then, his due process rights continued to be honored when the Immigration and Naturalization Service afforded him administrative hearings and appeals,' Sale, a prominent defense lawyer in Miami, told the Herald. 'After all this due process, he was finally deported to the Soviet Union.' There, because of his commission of war crimes in Crimea, Fedorenko, 79, was tried, found guilty and executed in 1987, a year after his deportation.
USA Today
22-06-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Are Latin American travelers still coming to the US for vacations?
Even though Karen Aguayo lives in central Mexico – a short flight away from the United States – she has yet to visit, and has no plans to. The 35-year-old Mexican national was hoping to make her first trip to the U.S. this year to visit her uncle, and even has a visa to visit the country. However, given the political climate, it feels like too much of a gamble for her safety. She went to Italy instead. Under President Donald Trump's flurry of executive orders signed in January, the goal was to "strengthen national security," including cracking down on immigration, increasing scrutiny at our borders, and imposing a travel ban on numerous countries. Earlier this year, the president also ignited a trade war between the U.S. and China, Mexico, Europe and Canada when he announced a skyrocket in tariffs – a move that upset nationals. 'Don't know how we should behave': Is the US South LGBTQ friendly? Aguayo said she's worried about being denied entry at the airport, along with how she may be treated while in the U.S., such as possible anti-Mexican sentiment. "It's not only me, I believe that many people think the same. They'd rather feel welcome in other countries," said Aguayo, who posts videos about travel in Mexico on her YouTube channel La Karencita. "Now I'm in Europe because I feel that people are more open to make you feel welcome and safe; nothing happens here." Since Trump's inauguration it feels like conflict and policies within the U.S. have been constantly changing, Aguayo said. "Maybe this is not the time to go." A recent example that deters her from visiting is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that swept through the greater Los Angeles area in response to Trump's vow of 1 million annual deportations of undocumented immigrants. Subsequent days-long protests against ICE escalated into violence between law enforcement and demonstrators, resulting in the president deploying the U.S. National Guard. While some Latin Americans are moving forward with their trips to the U.S., others are holding back due to safety concerns, a potentially hostile atmosphere or disagreement over the volatile political landscape under the Trump administration. A slowdown from this group of travelers could have a lasting impact on the U.S. economy. The U.S. has long been a popular destination for Latin Americans, with Mexico standing out as the second-largest demographic of visitor arrivals after Canada and contributing to an estimated $21 billion toward the American economy in 2018, according to the U.S. Travel Association. These travelers pausing their U.S. visits aren't swearing off the U.S. forever, but their hesitation shows the country's current political actions aren't going unnoticed. Latin American travelers conflicted over US travel Although some Latin American travelers are reconsidering visiting the U.S., many continue with their travel plans, especially Mexican nationals. Arrival and Departure Information System (ADIS) data between March 2024 and 2025 for Mexican arrivals to the U.S. showed a growth of 14.9% – comprising 26.7% of international visitors to the country, just slightly under Canadians. According to Expedia, many of the top U.S. destinations are still popular with Mexican travelers. For travel between May and June 30, lodging searches by Mexican nationals focused on cities like New York, Las Vegas, San Diego, Anaheim and Orlando. Emerging destinations showing increased interest include Charlotte, San Jose, Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Fort Worth. For the same travel period, airfare to the U.S. from Mexico is averaging below $575, with fluctuations depending on the arrival state. In some parts of Latin America, travel to the U.S. is on the decline. Although data from the National Travel and Tourism Office's International Visitor Arrivals Program (ADIS) shows U.S. travel demand for 2025 remains strong in countries like Brazil and Argentina, overall visitor numbers from South and Central America have dropped. From this past March to last, South American arrivals decreased by around 6% and over 35% for the Central Americans. 'We are seeing varying trends in demand for US travel across Latin America," the online booking platform Skyscanner said in a statement. "What we do know is that since the pandemic travelers are more engaged with travel warnings and advisories and these will likely influence demand." 'Everything is changing so fast' Alan Estrada, a 44-year-old Mexican travel content creator who shares his journeys under Alan Around the World, frequently travels to the U.S. for work. He recently attended the opening of the new theme park Epic Universe in Orlando and was also in Washington, D.C., earlier this month for the World Pride Music Festival. In July, the Mexico City-based traveler will visit New York for an event with one of his sponsors. Most of Estrada's U.S. visits are for work reasons, and he said he doesn't have any upcoming leisure trips planned. This is not only due to tensions like the ICE riots, but also the potential for other U.S. issues to escalate, like involvement in the war between Israel and Iran. "I'm not saying I won't do it," he said about going to the U.S. for pleasure. It's just that now is not the right time, he said. Although he's never had any issues with immigration, border control or hostility from Americans, the U.S. political landscape is on Estrada's radar. "Everything is changing so fast and can escalate from one day to another really, really quickly," said Estrada. "So, we have to be informed and aware all the time." About half of Estrada's audience is Mexican and most others live throughout Latin America. Lately, he's noticed a majority of comments on his social media channels and website – where people can call or email for travel advice – are about visiting the U.S. "There are some people in the comments saying like, 'is it safe to go to the U.S.' or 'please don't go to the U.S.,' depending on the political views of my followers," he said. "I can feel the people kind of worry a little bit about what's happening right now." Estrada believes the rise in concern comes from a mix of being more "cautious," disagreeing with American politics, and not finding the high price of travel to the U.S. to be worth it. As many situations remain unresolved, these travelers' decision to visit the U.S. is in the air. "The thing that I would need to see is not seeing people protesting because I think that's one sign that everything is getting uncomfortable, and not seeing the president talking about immigrants, about changing the rules," Aguayo, of La Karencita, said. Although Aguayo has never been to the U.S., it's not a priority for her either. In the meantime, she's content traveling the rest of the world.
