The reason you don’t see breathless hyperbole about “children in cages” dominating news cycles anymore is because between May and August, border officials report a sharp decrease in migrants attempting to cross the US border, with apprehensions falling by 62% and total enforcement actions dropping by 70%.

In September, there were some 40,000 arrests, the lowest month this fiscal year and down from nearly 133,000 apprehensions in May.

The reason? Determination and sustained pressure by the Trump administration — including, yes, threats of tariffs — to convince the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to do its part to stop the flow of migrants, mostly from Central America traversing Mexican territory.