The number of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S. border illegally fell in the first five months of the current fiscal year thanks to a little help from Mexico, according to an analysis released today by the Pew Research Center.

The Mexican government deported a record number of 3,819 unaccompanied minors from Central America in the first five months of the fiscal year that began in October, a 56 percent increase over the same period last year.

During the same period, U.S. officials apprehended 12,509 unaccompanied children at the U.S.-Mexico border, down from 21,403 a year ago. 

The number of Guatemalan children deported by Mexico doubled compared with the same period a year ago; the number of Salvadoran children deported has increased by 49 percent, while the number of Honduran children is similar to the previous year.

Most children apprehended in the U.S.-Mexico border during this fiscal year — 7,771 — came from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, with nearly all of the rest coming from Mexico.