It's a start

It's small, but it's a noticeable start:

The number of illegal immigrants living in North Carolina has declined since 2005, according to a study released this morning by the Pew Hispanic Center.

The center says that North Carolina had about 350,000 illegal residents in 2008, compared with 375,000 in 2005. The study, which used U.S. Census data to estimate the number of illegal immigrants in each state, provides the first state-by-state snapshot since 2005.

While one can argue with the numbers (I would say that the number of illegal aliens ("residents" my butt) and the number who have self-deported are both far higher than the Pew numbers), it's a promising beginning.