How migrants in Texas help each other avoid raids

THESE days, Martina Grifaldo begins her mornings by posting a special Facebook message for her immigrant community.

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“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 US and the largest in the southern US state of Texas.