AFP USA

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk “a giant of his generation” at a massive memorial event marked by strong Christian rhetoric and praise for the man many speakers referred to as a “martyr.”The 79-year-old Republican said Kirk was “above all a devoted husband, father, son, Christian and patriot,” adding that he “was violently killed because he spoke for freedom and justice. For God and country. For reason and for common sense.”The service drew an extraordinary level of attention and security, with the top brass of Trump’s administration joining tens of thousands in attendance, and some US media likening it to a state funeral.Ahead of Trump’s address, the crowd heard speeches from prominent cabinet members including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.”You thought you could kill Charlie Kirk? You have made him immortal,” top Trump advisor Stephen Miller said, vowing “to save this civilization, to save the West.”Among other speakers were right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson, Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.The event was being hosted by Turning Point USA, the hugely influential youth political campaign group founded by Kirk that is now run by his widow, Erika Kirk, who also spoke at the memorial.”That young man, I forgive him,” Kirk said of her husband’s alleged murderer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a gesture that drew uproarious applause from the crowd.State authorities have charged Robinson with murder and are pursuing the death penalty in the case against him.At the event, Trump was seen sitting beside billionaire backer Elon Musk, whose acrimonious departure from the White House after his brief tenure overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was not apparent as the two men chatted.Thousands of people had lined up hours before the event began, hoping to get into the 63,000-seat American football stadium hosting the service and honor the young Republican star — a close ally of the president whose voter outreach is credited with helping Trump get reelected last year.”I look at him as a Christ martyr, definitely,” Monica Mirelez, a 44-year-old Texan who drove 12 hours to get there, said of Kirk.Jeremy Schlotman, a 21-year-old biology student, said Kirk gave him the courage to express his beliefs on campus.”For example, I think that biological men shouldn’t be in women’s sports. But I was too afraid to talk about stuff like that out loud,” Schlotman said as Christian bands played on stage and the stadium steadily filled up.- ‘Hatred’ -Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck on September 10 while speaking at a Utah university as part of his popular public debate series. Authorities arrested a suspect after a 33-hour manhunt.The killing has inflamed often acrimonious and sometimes violent political divisions in the United States.Authorities say the suspected gunman cited the “hatred” he believed was stoked by Kirk — who was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others.Kirk used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.Even before the alleged killer was identified or arrested, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”- Crackdown on liberal ‘terrorism’ -In response to the killing, the White House last week declared it would crack down on what it terms “domestic terrorism” by the political left. Trump said he would designate “Antifa” — a shorthand term for “anti-fascist” used to describe diffuse far-left groups — as “a major terrorist organization,” a move he threatened in his first term.On Sunday, Trump said his government would go after alleged “networks” responsible for left-wing violence.  Prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air Wednesday, hours after the government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments he made about Kirk’s killing.The moves have sparked alarm among Trump’s critics who warn of possible steps to silence dissent of his divisive right-wing White House tenure, marked by a rolling back of social justice policies and an immigration crackdown that has seen widespread complaints of rights abuses.

Donald Trump sat side-by-side with billionaire Elon Musk, a once trusted advisor with whom the US president had a spectacular public falling out, at a memorial event for right-wing leader Charlie Kirk on Sunday.Trump chatted in a manner that appeared friendly with Musk, who once led the Republican’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), which took a hatchet to the US federal workforce and agencies when the Republican took office for his second term.The pair sat in the stands of a stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where tens of thousands had gathered to pay tribute to Kirk, who was shot dead on September 10 at a Utah university campus.Video of the two sharing a handshake was shared by the official White House account on social media platform X, which Musk owns.Musk donated more than $270 million to Trump’s presidential campaign, barnstorming key battleground states for the Republican. After the election, he oversaw the launch of the DOGE, a controversial initiative that eliminated thousands of government jobs deemed by the agency to be part of a pattern of waste, fraud and abuse.But Musk broke with Trump over the White House’s flagship tax and spending bill, which Musk called “utterly insane and destructive.” After the falling out, Musk went as far as to announce he was launching his own “America First” party, but little has materialized so far.Musk on his X account posted an image of him and Trump sitting together at the memorial, captioning it: “For Charlie.”

Tens of thousands of Americans came together in the southwestern US state of Arizona on Sunday to mourn 31-year-old right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, with US President Donald Trump due to lead the tributes to the youth leader after he was gunned down last week.The service has drawn an extraordinary level of attention and security, with the top brass of Trump’s administration in attendance and some US media likening it to a state funeral.President Trump waited his turn to address the crowd, hearing speeches from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others as the memorial got underway.”You thought you could kill Charlie Kirk? You have made him immortal,” top Trump advisor Stephen Miller said. “You have immortalized Charlie Kirk, and now millions will carry on his legacy.”Among other speakers were right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson, Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.The event was being hosted by Turning Point USA, the hugely influential youth political campaign group founded by Kirk that is now run by his widow, Erica Kirk.As he left the White House to fly out west and pay his respects, Trump said the service aimed “to celebrate the life of a great man.”At the event, Trump was seen sitting beside billionaire backer Elon Musk, whose acrimonious departure from the White House after his brief tenure overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was not apparent as the two men chatted.Thousands of people had lined up in the pre-dawn dark, hoping to get into the 63,000-seat American football stadium hosting the service and honor the young Republican star — a close ally of the president whose voter outreach is credited with helping Trump get reelected last year.”I look at him as a Christ martyr, definitely,” Monica Mirelez, a 44-year-old Texan who drove 12 hours to get there, said of Kirk.Jeremy Schlotman, a 21-year-old biology student, said Kirk gave him the courage to express his beliefs on campus.”For example, I think that biological men shouldn’t be in women’s sports. But I was too afraid to talk about stuff like that out loud,” Schlotman said as Christian bands played on stage and the stadium steadily filled up.- ‘Hatred’ -Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck on September 10 while speaking at a Utah university as part of his popular public debate series.Authorities arrested a suspect after a 33-hour manhunt and prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.The killing has inflamed often acrimonious and sometimes violent political divisions in the United States.Authorities say the suspected 22-year-old gunman cited the “hatred” he believed was stoked by Kirk — who was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others.Kirk used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.Even before the alleged killer was identified or arrested, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”- Crackdown on liberal ‘terrorism’ -In response to the killing, the White House last week declared it would crack down on what it terms “domestic terrorism” by the political left. Trump said he would designate “Antifa” — a shorthand term for “anti-fascist” used to describe diffuse far-left groups — as “a major terrorist organization,” a move he threatened in his first term.Prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air Wednesday, hours after the government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments he made about Kirk’s killing.The moves have sparked alarm among Trump’s critics who warn of possible steps to silence dissent of his divisive right-wing White House tenure, marked by a rolling back of social justice policies and an immigration crackdown that has seen widespread complaints of rights abuses.

American actress Angelina Jolie said Sunday she no longer recognises her country, voicing concern over threats to free expression while presenting her latest film at Spain’s San Sebastián film festival.Her comments come as worries grow over free speech in the United States, after President Donald Trump’s crackdown on critical media and the recent suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show over comments on the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.”I love my country, but I don’t at this time recognise my country,” Jolie said when asked if she feared for freedom of speech in the United States.”Anything, anywhere, that divides or, of course, limits personal expressions and freedoms and, from anyone, I think is very dangerous,” she added.”These are very, very heavy times we’re all living in together.”Jolie, 50, was in San Sebastian to promote “Couture”, directed by French filmmaker Alice Winocour, which is competing for the festival’s top prize, the Golden Shell.She plays Maxine Walker, an American film director facing divorce and a serious illness while navigating Paris Fashion Week and embarking on a romance with a colleague, played by French actor Louis Garrel.The Oscar-winning actress — honoured in 1999 for her role in “Girl, Interrupted” —  said she related personally to the struggles of her latest character.Jolie underwent a double mastectomy in 2013 and later had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to reduce her high genetic risk of cancer, which claimed the lives of her mother and grandmother.Visibly moved, she said she thought often of her mother while making the film.”I wish she was able to speak more as openly as I have been, and have people respond as graciously as you have, and not feel as alone,” Jolie said.”There’s something very particular to women’s cancers, because obviously it affects us, you know, how we feel as women,” she added.

US President Donald Trump will lead tributes to Charlie Kirk on Sunday at a huge stadium gathering to honor the young right-wing influencer slain in the country’s latest spasm of political violence.The service has drawn an extraordinary level of attention and security, with some US media likening it to a state funeral.The highest echelons of the Trump administration and orbit, topped by the president himself, waited their turn to address the crowd as the memorial ceremony got underway in the early afternoon.As he left the White House to fly out west and pay his respects, Trump said the service aimed “to celebrate the life of a great man.”Thousands of people had lined up in the pre-dawn dark, hoping to get into the 63,000-seat American football stadium hosting the service and honor the young Republican star — a close ally of the president whose voter outreach is credited with helping Trump get reelected last year.”I look at him as a Christ martyr, definitely,” Monica Mirelez, a 44-year-old Texan who drove 12 hours to get there, said of Kirk.Jeremy Schlotman, a 21-year-old biology student, said Kirk gave him the courage to express his beliefs on campus.”For example, I think that biological men shouldn’t be in women’s sports. But I was too afraid to talk about stuff like that out loud,” Schlotman said as Christian bands played on stage and the stadium steadily filled up.- ‘Hatred’ -Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck on September 10 while speaking at a Utah university as part of his popular public debate series.Authorities arrested a suspect after a 33-hour manhunt and prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty.The killing of the founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing youth action campaign, has inflamed often acrimonious and sometimes violent political divisions in the United States.Authorities say the suspected 22-year-old gunman cited the “hatred” he believed was stoked by Kirk — who was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others.Kirk used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.Even before the alleged killer was identified or arrested, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”- Crackdown on liberal ‘terrorism’ -Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will all speak at the memorial.Also speaking will be Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and other prominent Trump administration officials.Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who is taking over the reins of Turning Point USA, will also address the audience. In response to the killing, the White House last week declared it would crack down on what it terms “domestic terrorism” by the political left. Trump said he would designate “Antifa” — a shorthand term for “anti-fascist” used to describe diffuse far-left groups — as “a major terrorist organization,” a move he threatened in his first term.Prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air Wednesday, hours after the government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments he made about Kirk’s killing.The moves have sparked alarm among Trump’s critics who warn of possible steps to silence dissent of his divisive right-wing White House tenure, marked by a rolling back of social justice policies and an immigration crackdown that has seen widespread complaints of rights abuses.

Top Democratic leaders on Sunday warned that President Donald Trump’s drive to go after his political opponents is putting America on a path to becoming a dictatorship and a “banana republic.”These dramatic statements came a day after Trump’s public call for the Justice Department to take action against perceived enemies and after prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air, following a threat from regulators loyal to Trump — among other aggressive Trump behavior that critics have described as authoritarian.Turning the Justice Department “into an instrument that goes after his enemies, whether they’re guilty or not… is the path to a dictatorship,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Schumer said on CNN. “That’s what dictatorships do.”Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, meanwhile, suggested that the United States was turning into a “banana republic.””The president of the United States is now employing the full power of the federal government, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), the Department of Justice, in order to punish, lock up, take down off the air all of his political enemies,” Murphy said on ABC.”This is one of the most dangerous moments America has ever faced. We are quickly turning into a banana republic,” Murphy said.In a social media post on Saturday addressing “Pam” — apparently Attorney General Pam Bondi — Trump fumed over the lack of legal action against California Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats.Schiff and James are among a handful of people who have been accused by a close Trump ally, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, of falsifying documents on mortgage applications.”We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump said.On Friday, Trump fired the federal prosecutor who was overseeing the probe into James, after the attorney reportedly insisted there was insufficient evidence to charge her with mortgage fraud.Erik Siebert, US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, told staff of his resignation via an email on Friday, the New York Times and other US media outlets reported.”I fired him, and there is a GREAT CASE, and many lawyers, and legal pundits, say so,” Trump said Saturday, apparently referencing the probe into James.On Friday, asked by a reporter to comment on the case, Trump said: “I am not following it very closely. It looks to me like she’s very guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”Former US Secretary of State and Trump’s White House challenger, Hillary Clinton, echoed Schumer’s criticism, calling his moves a “very dangerous turn in our politics.””What we’re hearing now from the White House and their supporters (is) that this may, you know, lead to even further political action, legal action, prosecutorial action, intimidation of all kinds,” Clinton said on CNN.Schiff and James have separately clashed with Trump, leading investigations that the Republican president alleges were political witch hunts.During Trump’s first term in the White House, Schiff, then a member of the US House, led the prosecution at the president’s first impeachment trial, which was based on allegations he pressured Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election.After Trump left the White House, James brought a major civil fraud case against him, alleging he and his company had unlawfully inflated his wealth and manipulated the value of properties to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms. A state judge ordered Trump to pay $464 million in that suit, but a higher court later removed the financial penalty while upholding the underlying judgment.

An Afghan government defence official said Sunday that a deal over Bagram air base was “not possible”, after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the former US base back. Bagram, the largest air base in Afghanistan located north of the capital Kabul, was the centre of US operations in their 20 year-war against the Taliban.Trump threatened unspecified punishment against Afghanistan if it was not returned — four years after it was abandoned by US troops. “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” the 79-year-old leader wrote on his Truth Social platform.On Sunday, Fasihuddin Fitrat, chief of staff of Afghanistan’s ministry of defence, said “some people” want to take back the base through a “political deal”.”Recently, some people have said that they have entered negotiations with Afghanistan for taking back Bagram air base,” he said in comments broadcast by local media. “A deal over even an inch of Afghanistan’s soil is not possible. We don’t need it.”Later in an official statement, the Afghan government said warned that “Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance”.Trump has repeatedly criticised the loss of the base, noting its proximity to China.But Thursday while on a state visit to Britain was the first time he publicly raised the idea of the United States retaking control of it.US and NATO troops chaotically pulled out of Bagram in July 2021, under Joe Biden’s presidency but as part of a 2020 Trump-brokered deal with Taliban insurgents. The loss of crucial air power saw the Afghan military collapse just weeks later and the Taliban sweep back to power.Trump was asked by reporters at the White House if he was considering sending US troops to retake Bagram.”We won’t talk about that, but we’re talking now to Afghanistan, and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don’t do it, you’re going to find out what I’m going to do,” he said.A massive, sprawling facility, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others have repeatedly raised allegations of systematic human rights abuses by US forces at Bagram, especially pertaining to detainees in Washington’s murky “War on Terror”.The original airfield was built with assistance from what was then the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, expanded with US help during the Cold War, and significantly developed further by Moscow during the decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.At the height of US control around 2010 it had grown to the size of a small town, with supermarkets and shops including outlets such as Dairy Queen and Burger King.It was visited by several US presidents including Barrack Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2019. 

US President Donald Trump and top officials in his administration will lead tributes to Charlie Kirk on Sunday at a stadium gathering in Arizona, after the influential conservative activist was gunned down last week.Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck on September 10 while speaking at a Utah university as part of his popular public debate series.Authorities arrested a suspect after a 33-hour manhunt, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty in the case.The killing of the young conservative leader, founder of the Turning Point USA right-wing youth action campaign, has further deepened acrimonious political divisions in the United States.Authorities say the suspected 22-year-old gunman cited the “hatred” he believed was stoked by Kirk — who was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others.Kirk used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.Even before the alleged killer was identified or arrested, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”The US president has lauded Kirk’s role in helping him get re-elected in November last year.In Phoenix, outside Turning Point USA’s headquarters, hundreds marched on Saturday to lay flowers, American flags, and red, white and blue balloons.The sidewalk was filled with tributes to Kirk, depicted in photos with the slogan “Faith, Family, Freedom.””He was an amazing young man, who was taken away from us much too soon,” said Patti Peteque, 53.- Crackdown on liberal ‘terrorism’ -Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will all speak at the memorial on Sunday.Also speaking will be Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and other prominent Trump administration officials.Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who is taking over the reins of Turning Point USA, will also address the audience at the 63,000-seat State Farm Stadium in Glendale. In response to the killing, the White House last week declared it would crack down on what it terms “domestic terrorism” by the political left. Trump said he would designate “Antifa” — a shorthand term for “anti-fascist” used to describe diffuse far-left groups — as “a major terrorist organization,” a move he threatened in his first term.Prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air Wednesday, hours after the government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments he made about Kirk’s killing.The moves have sparked alarm among Trump’s critics who warn of possible steps to silence dissent of his divisive right-wing White House tenure, marked by a rolling back of social justice policies and an immigration crackdown that has seen widespread complaints of rights abuses.”All over the world, Amnesty International has worked for decades to expose and document the silencing of dissent through a range of tactics, and we are deeply concerned such efforts are becoming normalized here,” said the rights group’s Executive Director Paul O’Brien on Friday.Many on the right-wing in the United States, however, see things differently.”The left is just getting a taste of their own medicine. Who stood up when we felt censored, when we felt canceled?” said Peteque, the mourner in Phoenix.

The Statue of Liberty makes a cameo in the Metropolitan Opera’s season opener, invoking a time when New York stood as a beacon of hope for Jews desperately fleeing Nazism.The image from “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” — which kicks off the Met’s 2025-26 cycle on Sunday — resonates at a time when President Donald Trump’s government is cracking down on the media and immigration.The opera tells the fictitious tale of Joe Kavalier’s escape from Nazi-occupied Prague in 1939 to Brooklyn, where he joins forces with cousin Sam Clay to try to raise funds to attempt to save Kavalier’s family.Their money-making venture? A comic strip featuring an superhero called “The Escapist,” who fights fascists. Tenor Miles Mykkanen, who plays Clay, calls the work “a 21st century opera with stories that we want to hear nowadays and stories that affect our lives, which I don’t think we can say about a lot of the standard repertoire.”- ‘Never done with fascism’ -The ambitious piece, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel published in 2000 by Michael Chabon, alternates in music and sets between Prague, Brooklyn and the fantastic world of The Escapist.The meditation on love, loss, family and the necessity of art comes on the heels of other recent Met productions that have sought to reinvent the medium.The world of professional boxing, a magical realist universe evocative of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the debate over the death penalty in American and the ravages of the AIDS era have all been handled on the Met’s stage.But “Kavalier & Clay” represents the first work in the Met’s 142-year history that revolves around a comic book superhero — a pop culture mainstay that may provide an entry point for those who may not usually try opera.Chabon’s book was the first time “a big serious art form like the novel had taken comic books so seriously,” said composer Mason Bates.”We still embrace superheroes because we are never done with fascism and authoritarianism,” he said. “We long for the simplicity of a good guy to fight back.”- ‘The stuff of opera’ -With a huge symphonic burst, the opera starts in the ominous fog of Nazi-occupied Prague at night before shifting to Clay’s Brooklyn brownstone and his bustling office.The novel was published at more than 650 pages, necessitating a heavy streamlining by librettist Gene Scheer. Choruses and dancers come and go in a quickfire staging that includes frequent jolts of animation beamed to a busy stage.Some moments link worlds, as when Kavalier reads a letter from his mother, who is shown as he imagines her in Prague.New York is “the city of freedom and hope,” she tells her son, who is played by baritone Andrzej Filonczyk, before the tone shifts.”I want you to forget us,” she adds, leaving a crestfallen Kavalier as Prague inevitably darkens further.Bates, who is known for works that combine symphonic and electronic music, said he immediately thought “Kavalier & Clay” would work as opera, a medium of “storytelling on a grand scale” he said.”You’ve got desperation, passion, art, Nazis and superheroes,” he said. “Mix all that together. That’s the stuff of opera.”Bates pitched the idea to Met General Manager Peter Gelb, who greenlighted the commission in 2018. For director Bartlett Sher, the opera is landing at a moment when the rise of fascism in World War II and the response of artists to that calamity feels particularly resonant.People go to theater and opera “to learn from our own history who we are,” said Sher.He said he is especially moved when characters “talk about what it means to be an immigrant fleeing a country politically and the refuge you seek in the United States.”That allows the audience to “think to ourselves, ‘Well, is that who we are?'” Sher added.

These days, Martina Grifaldo begins her mornings by posting a special Facebook message for her immigrant community.”May everyone who goes out today make it home safely,” Grifaldo writes in Spanish to her 171,000 followers.The Facebook page, managed with fellow activist Francisco Mendoza, aims to warn migrants where possible raids are happening in real time using photos and videos submitted by community members.Since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown after returning to power in January, federal authorities have increased their detention of undocumented migrants, asylum seekers, and even those with Latino features who have US citizenship or permanent residency.Social media has flooded with pictures and videos of these arrests, some of which turn violent, despite uproar from civil rights groups.Several times a week, Grifaldo, 62, goes out on patrol before the crack of dawn to monitor areas where immigration authorities usually operate in Houston, the fourth most populous city in the United States and the largest in the southern US state of Texas.”We start around 5:30 or 6 am with a ‘good morning’ message, and people send each other blessings. Then we ask: how are the roads?” said Grifaldo, director of the nonprofit Alianza Latina Internacional.- ‘Terrorized’ -US Immigration raids are carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, with images of frozen water becoming synonymous with migrant detentions.A common roadside warning sign, “Beware of ice on roads,” now carries a double meaning for Latino communities.”In our posts, we put a picture of an ice cube next to an image of a police officer, and we ask the public to help report” where they are, Grifaldo explained.Through their own observations and submissions from followers, Grifaldo and her collaborator Mendoza share information about raids taking place in the city.On several occasions, ICE agents carrying out raids did not identify themselves, did not wear official uniforms, and did not even show arrest warrants.This makes Grifaldo and Mendoza suspect that the raids are sometimes carried out by bounty hunters, though federal immigration officials have denied employing such methods.Even so, it is common for ICE agents to wear masks, military-style vests, and use violence when carrying out raids.”Every time we go out and check the reports, and we see them, we see how they treat our people, we feel… terrorized, because at any time it could happen to us,” said Mendoza, 57, head of Disaster Management at Alianza Latina Internacional.Grifaldo, who works as a public notary and researcher, volunteers her time to conduct the patrols along with Mendoza, a Mexican immigrant himself who runs an air conditioning and plumbing business.- ‘They keep us informed’ -As the pair drive in their truck, they continue to broadcast live on their page.They later stop for a bite at a fast food restaurant, invited by local employees in a show of thanks for their work.”I respect them because they are taking risks for us,” said Elizabeth, a 35-year-old woman who works at the restaurant and is seeking legal status in the United States.She came to the United States from El Salvador over a decade ago with her mother and son.”I take care of my mother, who has fallen ill. Imagine if she was waiting for me, and I did not come home,” she continued.Mendoza said it was “heartbreaking” how America treats migrants.”Undocumented people pay so much taxes… and we don’t receive anything back,” Mendoza told AFP. Undocumented workers paid $97 billion in taxes in 2022 alone, according to Americans for Tax Fairness.As Mendoza and Grifaldo conduct their patrols, they inspect work vehicles, such as vans and pickup trucks, that appear to be abandoned, as they can be left behind by migrant workers who have been detained.By the late afternoon, they wind down their patrol, and Grifaldo pens another message for the Facebook page:”Good night, warriors. Even though it’s hard, we have to rest. Tomorrow will be another day to continue resisting.”