Selena Gomez says she is feeling heartbroken and deeply concerned by the recent immigration crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump that has seen nearly 1,000 individuals arrested nationwide within days of his return to office following the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election.
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The 32-year-old singer and actress took to Instagram on Monday, January 27, sharing an emotional video of herself in tears alongside a caption that read, “I’m sorry,” accompanied by a Mexican flag emoji. “All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don’t understand. 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,” Gomez said through sobs in the video, showing raw vulnerability and frustration.
In another post on her Instagram Story, Gomez wrote: “Apparently, it’s not ok to show empathy for people,” reflecting her frustration with the criticism she may have received for speaking out on immigration issues.
The crackdown is said to have resulted in 956 arrests on Sunday, January 26. This is said to be the highest number of arrests since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second term according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. This comes after several raids earlier this week, 286 on January 25, 593 on January 24, and 538 on January 23, reported by BBC.
These actions have drawn comparisons to previous administrations, with the Migration Policy Institute noting that former President Joe Biden oversaw approximately 1.5 million deportations during his first term, mirroring Trump’s deportation numbers during his initial presidency.
Gomez has long been an advocate for immigrant rights.
In 2019, she produced the Netflix docuseries *Living Undocumented*, which gave voice to undocumented families navigating the challenges of life in the United States. In an emotional *TIME* op-ed from the same year, Gomez shared her own family’s immigration story, revealing that her aunt was the first to cross the Mexican border in the 1970s, followed by her grandparents.
Her father was later born in Texas, and she acknowledged feeling “blessed” to have been born in the United States herself. In light of the grieving, Gomez expresses how these policies affect her by opening discussions on empathy, advocacy, and the struggle faced by the immigrant communities.
In a now-deleted video on her Instagram story, #SelenaGomez sobs over the deportation of illegal immigrants with criminal background by the #DonaldTrump administration.
“All my people are getting attacked. I wish I could do something but I can’t.”pic.twitter.com/A4ySfRSONJ
— Cinemania World (@Cinemania_World) January 27, 2025
