Undocumented Mexican workers in the United States can get retirement assistance from Mexico.

WESTLAKE AREA, Los Angeles (KABC) — After decades of working in the United States and sending money back to Mexico, many older illegal immigrants could soon receive retirement benefits from their home country.

For the first time, the Mexican government can extend retirement benefits to its citizens living in the United States.

The Mexican government has announced plans to expand its “welfare” pension program to include elderly Mexicans living abroad. Officials say that could happen next year.

Advocates for expanding the Mexican retirement program gathered in Westlake on Wednesday to express their support.

“I have been sending financial support to my family for the 23 years I have been here,” said Martha Salazar. “I started working double shifts so I could send money to my children so they could study and pay for our house.”

Older undocumented migrants have no pensions or retirement benefits to fall back on, advocates say, and many sent most of their wages back to help their families in Mexico. Now they are fighting to survive.

“I have very serious health problems. These problems make me vulnerable in many different ways,” said Arturo Juan Manuel Herrera, who is from Mexico and undocumented. “I worry every day that my wife might get sick because she has to work so hard.”

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reported that in 2022, illegal immigrants contributed nearly $97 billion in federal, state, and local taxes.

A recent report by the nonprofit National Day Workers Organizing Network shows that in 2023, Mexico received more than $60 billion in remittances, primarily from Mexicans working in low-wage jobs in the United States.

The nonprofit says there are hundreds of thousands of older undocumented immigrants who have contributed to the economies of the United States and Mexico.