The actress — who was born in Texas and is of Mexican descent on her father’s side — said, “All my people are getting attacked,” in a since deleted video.

Selena Gomez couldn’t hold back her tears while talking about the Trump administration’s deportation policies. (Selena Gomez via Instagram)

Selena Gomez’s emotional reaction to President Trump’s immigration crackdown has pulled her into the political debate.

The Emilia Pérez actress, 32, posted a video to her Instagram Story on Jan. 27 in which she tearfully reacted to the new administration’s deportation policies. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made close to 1,200 arrests the day before. Approximately half of the arrests — nearly 52% — were “criminal arrests,” while the rest appear to be nonviolent offenders, according to NBC News.

Gomez, who was born in Texas and is of Mexican descent on her father’s side, said, “All my people are getting attacked. The children … I don’t know what to do.” She quickly deleted the video, posting in another Instagram Story, “Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people.”

Gomez’s video fueled politicians and talking heads who support the deportation policy, including Trump’s border czar Tom Homan and 2018 U.S. Senate candidate Sam Parker — the latter of whom called for Gomez to be “deported.”

What did Gomez say in her video?

In the now deleted video that Gomez captioned “I’m sorry” with a Mexican flag, the Only Murders in the Building star sobbed while talking about the state of the world.

“All my people are getting attacked,” said Gomez. “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.”

After deleting her initial Instagram video on Jan. 27, Gomez posted another Story in which she wrote, “Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people.”

Selena Gomez via Instagram
Gomez, a self-described “proud third-generation American Mexican,” previously opened up about her family’s immigration to the U.S. in a 2019 Time magazine essay. She revealed that her aunt was the first member of her family to cross the border in the back of a truck in the 1970s. Her grandparents followed and her father was born in Texas. Gomez said for four decades, “members of my family have worked hard to gain United States citizenship,” and she credited her family’s “bravery and sacrifice” for her being born a U.S. citizen.

Gomez — who produced the 2019 Netflix docuseries Living Undocumented, about families that allowed their lives to be documented as they faced potential deportation — wrote that undocumented immigration was something she thought about every day. However, “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.”

What was the reaction to Gomez’s comments?

While there is widespread criticism of the administration’s practices, the fact that Gomez — a Hollywood star with 422 million Instagram followers — cried made for a good news hook.

On Fox News, host Sean Hannity started his interview with border czar Homan by saying, “I gotta ask your reaction to Selena Gomez. I didn’t see any postings of tears for all the women and American citizens murdered, all the people that were raped including children, all the other victims of violent crime. … I didn’t see any tears on any of those issues. What was that all about?”

Homan told Hannity that his intro was the “best monologue I’ve heard you do in years,” before launching into how people entering the country illegally has led to the U.S. fentanyl crisis as well as child sex trafficking.

“Where’s the tears for them?” Homan asked UNICEF ambassador Gomez, who has been advocating for children since 2009.

In a second interview with the network, Homan said that the administration’s practices are “all for the good of this nation. And we’re gonna keep going. No apologies. We’re moving forward.”

Parker, who ran for U.S. Senate from Utah, posted a flurry of reactions to Gomez’s comments on X, including a post claiming Gomez “picked illegals over America b/c she’s the 3rd gen descendant of Mexican illegals who received citizenship in the ’87 Amnesty. Maybe Selena should be deported, too?”

He later posted a tweet calling to “Deport Selena Gomez.”

Gomez used her Instagram Story to react to Parker’s call to deport her.

“Oh Mr. Parker, Mr. Parker,” she wrote. “Thanks for the laugh and the threat.”