Selena Gomez whose paternal grandparents emigrated from Mexico responded to a politician who said she should be “deported” after she posted a now-deleted video of herself crying during recent immigration crackdowns.
Gomez, initially posted a video to her Instagram Stories on Monday, sobbing amid the mass deportations initiated by President Donald Trump over the weekend. Gomez spoke through tears in the video that “my people are getting attacked.”
“I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something, but I can’t,” Gomez said. “I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”
Instagram Stories are meant to remain visible for 24 hours, but it appeared the video was subsequently deleted after a wave of backlash. Gomez posted, then also deleted, a statement that said “apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people.”
Sam Parker, who ran for U.S. Senate in Utah in 2018, attacked Gomez on X, accusing her of picking undocumented immigrants over Americans because she is a “descendent” of Mexican immigrants who crossed the border illegally.
“She has an entitlement attitude toward America, like her illegal g’parents. Maybe Selena should be deported, too?” he wrote. He later quoted his own post simply saying “Deport Selena Gomez.”
Gomez responded in an Instagram Story on Monday night, which she also later deleted.
“Oh Mr. Parker, Mr. Parker,” Gomez wrote. “Thanks for the laugh and the threat.”
Over the weekend, Trump ordered multiple federal agencies to take part in immigration raids across the country. Nearly 1,200 people were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday alone, but only 52% of the undocumented immigrants taken into custody had a criminal record.
To cross into the U.S. illegally or to overstay a visa is considered a civil offense, but not a crime. It is, however, a crime to re-enter the U.S. without permission after being deported.
There were mixed responses online to the video of Gomez crying, with some criticizing her stance on immigration issues and some calling her out for saying she “can’t” do anything when she is a celebrity with copious resources.
Others defended Gomez as one of the few celebrities to speak in real time during the immigration raids. Television personality Geraldo Rivera, who once supported Trump, posted on X in defense of Gomez and noted, “We can’t arrest our way out of our immigration crisis.”
“Selena Gomez should be commended for her compassion and sincerity,” Rivera wrote. “People attacking her on social media should be ashamed.”
Gomez was a producer on the 2019 Netflix documentary series “Living Undocumented,” which followed eight families living in the U.S. without legal immigration status. She wrote an editorial in Time magazine explaining her support for the project.
In the editorial, Gomez said that her aunt crossed the border from Mexico “hidden in the back of a truck” and that her grandparents later followed. Her father was born in Texas, so was a U.S. citizen due to birthright citizenship.
“Over the past four decades, members of my family have worked hard to gain United States citizenship,” she wrote. “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 said the series reminded her of her own family members’ fear and uncertainty, but also their hope. Gomez wrote that she was aware her work on “Living Undocumented” was likely going to bring backlash.
“But the truth is, the worst criticism I can imagine is still nothing compared to what undocumented immigrants face every day,” Gomez wrote. “Fear shouldn’t stop us from getting involved and educating ourselves on an issue that affects millions of people in our country.”