Selena Gomez Sobs Over Trump’s Deportations in Emotional Video
Selena Gomez got vulnerable on her Instagram stories where she shared a video of herself sobbing over the deportation of undocumented immigrants under President Trump’s aggressive new policy.
The actress and singer struggled through the video (embedded below) released early Monday, saying amid tears, “All my people are getting attacked … the children. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”
The Only Murders in the Building star’s message was met with immediate backlash among Trump supporters, and she has since deleted the video.
“Apparently it’s not OK to show empathy for people,” said the Texas-born Gomez, who has previously noted she’s a third-generation Mexican-American.
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The video comes as Hollywood has otherwise remained uncharacteristically quiet about the hot-button deportation issue amid a general sense that the country’s mood has shifted, along with an increasingly reluctance to engage on political topics in general.
Over the weekend, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and their partners conducted nationwide roundups of more than 1,200 undocumented immigrants, according to Fox News. The agents targeted undocumented immigrants who have also been charged or convicted with committing crimes on American soil, dubbing those arrested “criminal aliens.”
Gomez has been an immigration advocate in the past, previously writing an essay on the subject for Time magazine. “Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day, and I never forget how blessed I am to have been born in this country thanks to my family and the grace of circumstance,” she wrote in October. “But when I read the news headlines or see debates about immigration rage on social media, I feel afraid for those in similar situations. I feel afraid for my country.”
Gomez also produced a 2019 documentary for Netflix called Living Undocumented. “I’m concerned about the way people are being treated in my country,” wrote Gomez. “As a Mexican-American woman I feel a responsibility to use my platform to be a voice for people who are too afraid to speak. And I hope that getting to know these eight families and their stories will inspire people to be more compassionate, and to learn more about immigration and form their own opinion.”