Sen. Eric Schmitt proposed a 15% tax on money that immigrants send to their homeland as he vowed Tuesday to stop America from being the “world’s piggy bank.”

The Missouri Republican said money not only flees the U.S., but also has become a perverse incentive for more illegal immigration, with people coming specifically to earn money to send home.

“It’s time to put America first. By implementing a 15% tax on remittances, we will keep more money in the United States and put American workers in the driver’s seat once again,” the senator said.

Tens of billions of dollars a year flow from the U.S. to countries in remittances, and other governments have become dependent on them.

In Central America, some nations get as much as a quarter of their gross domestic product from remittances, almost all of that from their citizens living in the U.S.

Mexico gets about 4% of its GDP from remittances — making it the largest source of foreign income.

President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill budget plan contains a 3.5% tax on remittances.

Mr. Schmitt’s proposal to quadruple that rate comes after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced an all-out campaign aimed at defeating the tax.

She has urged Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the U.S. to lobby Congress to register their opposition.

She called the tax “unconstitutional,” saying it amounted to double taxation.

“This is an injustice,” she told reporters last month, according to Mexico News Daily.

Her opposition comes as Mexico has seen a large drop in remittances. They fell from $5.41 billion in April 2024 to $4.76 billion this April.

Analysts blamed the U.S. job market and Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, which are scaring illegal immigrants away from going to work or sending money home.

Remittances had increased year to year in March and totaled nearly $65 billion in 2024.

• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.