Selena Gomez at a Women in Entertainment gala event in LA, on Dec 4, 2024. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters.
As former President Donald Trump intensifies efforts to deport individuals living in the United States without legal status, Selena Gomez has voiced her heartfelt response to immigration. The actress and singer recently shared a deeply emotional message on social media, addressing the impact of immigration policies on vulnerable communities.
In a since-deleted video reportedly posted to her Instagram Story, Gomez appeared visibly emotional, wiping away tears while expressing her distress over the situation. “I’m so sorry,” she told her followers, lamenting, “All my people are getting attacked. The children — I don’t understand.” The 32-year-old star added, “I wish I could do something for the kids. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.” The video included the words “I’m sorry” accompanied by a Mexican flag emoji.
The singer’s reaction comes amid significant immigration policy changes. Early in his presidency, Trump declared a national border emergency, deploying troops and increasing federal law enforcement efforts to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. Despite the dramatic measures, data shows illegal border crossings were at their lowest in over five years, with approximately 1,000 daily encounters reported in January—a 75% drop from the previous year.
Trump’s administration deported an estimated 2 million individuals during his first term, comparable to the 2.1 million deportations recorded in President Barack Obama’s second term. However, a shift in enforcement priorities under the Biden administration placed greater focus on individuals posing public safety or national security threats.
Recently, under the Laken Riley Act, Congress and Trump broadened the scope of immigration enforcement. The act prioritizes the detention and deportation of individuals without serious criminal offenses and designates criminal cartels as "global terrorist groups," enabling military deployment for enforcement.
For Gomez, these developments hit close to home. As a third-generation Mexican American, she has long been outspoken about immigration issues. In a 2019 essay for Time, she shared her family’s story of migration and their journey to U.S. citizenship. “Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day,” she wrote, reflecting on her gratitude for the opportunities afforded to her through her family’s sacrifices.
Through her work as an executive producer of the Netflix docuseries Living Undocumented, Gomez highlighted the human side of immigration, urging audiences to approach the issue with compassion. “As a Mexican-American woman, I feel a responsibility to use my platform to be a voice for those too afraid to speak,” she stated.
Selena Gomez continues to amplify these conversations through her art, including her recent work in the Oscar-nominated film Emilia Pérez, though she has faced criticism for her limited Spanish fluency. Regardless, Gomez remains steadfast in advocating for those affected by immigration policies, using her influence to foster awareness and empathy.
