Actress and singer Selena Gomez shared and then deleted a video of her crying about ICE deportations and expressing her wish she could “do something.”
Over the first weekend of President Donald Trump’s second term, federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and their partners conducted nationwide roundups of more than 1,200 illegal immigrants who were charged or convicted with committing crimes on American soil.
The American-born “Only Murders in the Building” star posted a video to her Instagram story with a caption of “I’m sorry” along with a Mexican flag emoji.
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“All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don’t understand,” she said while crying. “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.”
She deleted the video shortly afterward, and according to a purported screenshot, posted another, now-deleted Instagram story simply with a caption saying, “Apparently it’s not okay to show empathy for people.”
The video was widely mocked across social media, such as by talk show host Piers Morgan, who wrote, “Posting yourself weeping over illegal immigrant criminals being deported is a new level of absurd celebrity narcissism.”
The actress has spoken about illegal immigration before, and executive produced a Netflix documentary series about illegal immigrants called “Living Undocumented.”
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In a 2019 Time Magazine interview, Gomez spoke about how illegal immigration helped shape her own family’s story.
“In the 1970s, my aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States hidden in the back of a truck,” she said. “My grandparents followed, and my father was born in Texas soon after. In 1992, I was born a U.S. citizen thanks to their bravery and sacrifice.”
She later told the outlet, “Over the past four decades, members of my family have worked hard to gain United States citizenship. 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. 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.”
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
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