In the furious debates about illegal immigration, the average American might think there's no good news. But on Wednesday, the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the respected Pew Research Center, provided a morsel.

According to its study, the annual average inflow of illegal aliens to the United States was nearly two-thirds smaller between March 2007 and March 2009 -- 300,000 per year -- than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005 -- 850,000 per year.

"This sharp decline has contributed to an overall reduction of 8 percent in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States -- to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007," the study reported. "The decrease represents the first significant reversal in the growth of this population over the past two decades."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the reasons are various. One is tougher enforcement along the borders (the federal government removed 387,790 illegal aliens in fiscal 2009 compared with 291,060 in 2007). But a bigger one may be the poor state of the economy. Fewer jobs, fewer illegal workers seeking them.

None of this means the problem is solved -- 11.1 million illegal aliens is still an unacceptably large number. But perhaps the debate can proceed with less apocalyptic fear that the nation is being overrun.

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