These are tough times to talk about immigration—or even a tough time to talk about anything other than immigration.

In the United States, the ongoing crackdown has led to the military’s deployment to Los Angeles, an ICE budget increase to rival the world’s top militaries, and deportations to countries across Latin America.

Meanwhile, Mexico City’s protests over gentrification and cost of living raise meaningful discussions over mass tourism and the balance between digital nomads and housing reform—as well as accusations of xenophobia.

More than half of all foreigners who entered Mexico in May 2025 were day‑trippers, not overnight guests, so most never even look for an apartment.

Bubble chart showing temporary resident cards issued by Mexico, revealing Americans make up the largest single group | Sources: Unidad de Política Migratoria, Latinometrics
Where do Mexico's migrants come from?

Looking at the number of resident cards issued last year in Mexico, Americans do make up the largest single group represented, followed by Colombians and – interestingly enough – Chinese citizens.

Latin America is the region that has provided the most immigrants to modern Mexico. Cubans fleeing their country’s economic meltdown are one of the country’s largest groups, numbering nearly 4K resident cards just last year.

This continues a century-long tradition of Mexico serving as a haven for displaced persons from around the world.

Line graph showing temporary resident cards issued in Mexico by country of origin, highlighting China as Mexico's fastest-growing immigration group | Sources: Unidad de Política Migratoria, Latinometrics
China is Mexico's fastest growing immigration group

But where once Arabs from the Ottoman Empire, or Basques and Catalans fleeing the Spanish Civil War, contributed their experience and skills to Mexico, today, the fastest-growing group of immigrants to the country comes from China.

Americans remain the largest bloc of foreign‑born, yet their share has slipped from 76% to 64% in the last decade. China, for its part, picked up over 6K new resident cards in 2024, triple the pre‑pandemic levels.

This post-COVID surge comes as immigration from Colombia has leveled off…and immigration from the US has actually declined.

So who knows? Perhaps the next protests in Condesa will be against the chinos rather than the gringos?