Selena Gomez’s emotional video, in which she expressed her sorrow over the treatment of migrants, has sparked intense debate on immigration policy.
In a tearful post, Gomez, who has Mexican heritage, said, “All my people are being attacked, and children,” as she sobbed uncontrollably.
“I wish I could do something but I can’t,” she added, captioning the video with “I’m sorry” alongside a Mexican flag emoji.
However, her emotional plea did not sit well with Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under President Donald Trump.
Homan, who has been a staunch advocate for strict immigration policies, responded on Fox News, stating, “If they don’t like it, then go to Congress and change the law. We’re going to do this operation without apology.”
Homan was referring to a nationwide immigration crackdown ordered by Trump upon his return to the presidency, which led to 956 arrests on a recent Sunday.
Despite deleting her initial Instagram video, Gomez returned to social media to defend her stance, posting, “Apparently it’s not OK to show empathy for people.”
However, she later took down that follow-up message as well.
Her comments sparked an online back-and-forth, with many of her fans supporting her, as did rapper Flavor Flav, who praised her bravery on X. He wrote, “Team Selena Gomez. Again. That woman is always so brave to share her truth, and so many are quick to bully her.”
The Mexican government is bracing for the arrival of thousands of deportees, as the “Remain in Mexico” policy from Trump’s first term is set to be reinstated.
Homan, addressing the situation, said, “We’re going to make our community safer… It is all for the good of this nation. And we’re going to keep going. No apologies. We’re moving forward.”
Homan emphasized that the raids were aimed at arresting “public security threats and national security threats” and reiterated that undocumented individuals caught in such operations would be deported, even if they were not involved in criminal activity.
In another Fox News interview, Homan asked, “Where’s the tears for sex trafficking victims?” referring to the estimated half a million children trafficked into the U.S.
He questioned why Gomez was not speaking out on behalf of these victims, many of whom were separated from their families and trafficked by criminal cartels.
On the other side, critics of the immigration policies, including Gomez’s supporters, defended her position.
Among them was TV host Megyn Kelly, who criticized Gomez for deleting her video after receiving backlash.
Kelly remarked on The Megyn Kelly Show, “She deleted it after her fans taught her that the majority of the country stands behind these policies, but I’m sure she was shocked to get any blowback whatsoever.”
Gomez, who hails from Texas, has over 400 million followers on Instagram.
She has long been an advocate for immigrant rights, having fronted the Netflix documentary series Living Undocumented in 2019, which highlighted the experiences of immigrant families in the U.S.
Currently, she stars in the hit Disney TV series Only Murders in the Building and recently received a Bafta nomination for her role in the film Emilia Perez, which is among this year’s Oscar contenders.
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