Gomez Posts Video Protesting Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
Conservatives Attack: "Gomez Should Be Deported Too"
Actress Selena Gomez posted and then deleted a video on social media protesting with tears against the Trump administration's large-scale illegal immigrant deportation policy. As a third-generation American immigrant, she faced strong criticism from conservative circles and removed the video.
On the 29th, Yonhap News, citing the British daily The New York Times (NYT) and others, reported that Gomez tearfully protested the Trump administration's recent massive crackdown on illegal immigrants in a video she posted on her Instagram the day before.
In the video, Gomez, visibly emotional and wiping away tears repeatedly, said, "All my people, the children, are being attacked," adding, "I can't understand it. I wish I could do something, but I can't. I don't know what to do." The caption of the video included the Mexican flag and the words "I'm sorry."
Gomez, who is very popular in the U.S. as a singer and actress and is often called the nation's younger sister, comes from an immigrant family whose grandparents migrated from Mexico to the United States. In a past article for American media, she revealed that her grandparents crossed the border by hiding in the back of a truck and later obtained U.S. citizenship.
In 2017, she showed great interest in immigrant issues by participating in the production of the Netflix documentary "Living Undocumented," which deals with the lives of immigrant families in the U.S.
At that time, Gomez said she wanted to speak out on behalf of "immigrants who cannot speak about immigrant issues." A few days before the documentary was released on Netflix, she contributed an essay to the news magazine Time, expressing concern about how the Trump administration was treating undocumented immigrants.
The day before Gomez posted the video, the Trump administration announced that it had arrested 956 illegal immigrants across the United States in one day. The crackdown took place simultaneously in various locations nationwide, including Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta; Colorado; Los Angeles; and Austin, Texas. Immigrant arrests were also carried out beyond the mainland U.S., including Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has actively used military forces to respond to illegal immigration, ordering the deployment of 1,500 regular troops and helicopters to the Mexican border.
Gomez's video immediately sparked a heated response in the U.S., with strong backlash from conservative circles. She has significant influence, boasting over 422 million Instagram followers.
Charlie Kirk, founder of the conservative political group Turning Point USA, criticized on his X account why Gomez, an American, identifies herself with undocumented immigrants rather than fellow Americans. Conservative commentator Tommy Lahren stated, "This is why we don't take political advice from Disney child stars."
Republican politician Samuel Parker falsely claimed on social media that Gomez's grandparents were illegal immigrants and wrote, "Gomez might also need to be deported."
Following these criticisms, Gomez deleted the video and wrote, "Apparently, showing empathy for people is not okay."
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