"Americans have grown less welcoming toward immigrants living in the U.S. illegally since Donald Trump's first presidency," Reuters reported December 12. Some 33 percent of respondents in a Reuters/ Ipsos poll said "most or all immigrants without legal status should be allowed to stay in the United States, down from 39 percent" in 2017. "The immigration surge of the past few years has been the largest in U.S. history, surpassing the great immigration boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s." — The New York Times, December 12, 2024 "A court ordered system for protecting the health of children detained at the southern border … is set to expire nine days after Donald J. Trump takes office." — The New York Times, December 18, 2024 "Representative John Duarte of California, a freshman Republican, conceded to Adam Gray, a Democrat, cementing a 220-215 majority for Republicans in a margin even slimmer than they have now, at 220-213." — The New York Times, December 5, 2024 … Greg Casar, "a 35-year-old Democrat from Austin, Texas, was elected as the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, becoming the youngest person ever tapped to lead the group of liberals." — The New York Times, December 13, 2024 "The New York Mets and superstar outfielder Juan Soto agreed on a 15-year, $765 million contract in what's believed to be the most lucrative deal in team sports history." — NBCNews.com, December 9, 2024 "Silvia Pinal, an award-winning actress who was considered one of the great stars of Mexico's golden age of cinema" died. She was believed to be 93. — The New York Times, December 9, 2024 … "Dolores Madrigal, the lead plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit brought by Latina women in California who said they were coerced into unwanted sterilization during childbirth at a Los Angeles hospital in the early 1970s, died." She was 90. — The New York Times, December 15, 2024 The European Union reached a major trade agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, to "establish one of the largest trade zones in the world and would be the European Union's biggest trade pact ever." — The New York Times, December 7, 2024 Mexican security forces captured more than a ton of fentanyl, "marking the country's largest synthetic opioid seizure." — The New York Times, December 6, 2024