So it turns out that border enforcement does work - despite the dire warnings of pro-immigrant activists who have cautioned that trying to control our nation's southern border is, in addition to being inhumane toward the would-be migrants, also doomed to fail.

In an Associated Press article that ran atop the front page of Sunday's North County Times, it was reported that not only are apprehensions down more than a third along the border compared to a year ago (except here in San Diego County, where there has been a small increase), but that in Mexico itself there is a sense that it's getting tougher to cross illegally into the United States.

All of this is a startling bit of reality elbowing its way into an issue where extremists on both sides tend to obfuscate every detail, where mythology and stereotypes tend to drown out most in the way of facts in the public debate.

If the current border crackdown continues to show success in securing our border and dissuading people from coming here in violation of our immigration laws, it may yet allow reality to have the day.

Of course, anti-immigrant types (the sort who oppose all immigration, even that which is legal and regulated) shouldn't spend too much time or effort rejoicing at the success of the border crackdown.

For as Sunday's article illustrated, crops in the United States are going unharvested as the Mexican migrant workers who usually pick them sit at home on the other side of the border. And the just-started federal crackdown on employers who hire people here illegally is likely to exacerbate that situation.

If this all holds, it will put to a real-world test the anti-immigrants' argument that American workers are ready and willing to pick crops for a living. It will also put to a test the oft-stated argument that most Americans are willing to pay more for their food in order to reflect the higher wages American workers would command over people who are here illegally and thus lack any kind of negotiating leverage.

And a secure border may even force a bit of realpolitik in Mexico City, where the official government jobs creation policy has pretty much been summed up as "Go north, young man."

What Sunday's article illustrated is that political slogans and bumper-sticker arguments are well and nice but mean little when they finally run up against the cold, hard facts of reality.

And part of the reality of the illegal immigration issue is that this country does possess the ability to secure its borders. By putting National Guard observers along the border, hiring more border agents and aggressively deporting those who are here illegally, the United States has made our border with Mexico less porous.

But another part of the reality of illegal immigration is that many of the people who are here illegally are not really immigrants at all, but temporary migrant workers who provide an awful lot of the labor that powers our economy.

After years of being told our border can't be sealed, we seem on the verge of finding out just what the reality of a secure border really is.

- Contact columnist Jim Trageser at (760) 631-6628 or jtrageser@nctimes.com.