Selena Gomez Reacts to Politician Calling For Her Deportation After Crying Video

In a post shared to her Instagram Stories, the actress reacted to an X post shared by Sam Parker, a Republican who ran for the US Senate in Utah in 2018.

“Deport Selena Gomez,” Parker wrote, slamming Gomez’s emotional response to the ICE raids. The politician shared his message alongside another he posted on his personal account, in which he claimed Gomez “picked illegals over America.”

The Only Murders in the Building star responded to Parker on her Instagram Stories, simply writing, “Oh, Mr. Parker, Mr. Parker. Thanks for the laugh and the threat.”

Parker addressed Gomez’s post on his X. “Selena Gomez has responded to me 🤣,” he wrote alongside a screenshot of Gomez’s Instagram Story.

This back and forth comes after Gomez shared a video of herself on her Instagram Stories, in which she cried while reacting to President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdown.

In her since-deleted video, the Rare Beauty founder — who is Mexican-American — broke down in tears over her people being “attacked.”

“I just wanted to say that I’m sorry,” she said through sobs. “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.”

“I’m sorry,” she wrote over the video, adding an emoji of a Mexican flag.

Gomez also shared another post, writing, “Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people.”

Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, later addressed the singer’s video in an appearance on Fox News, claiming ICE is only going after “public security threats and national security threats” to “make our community after.”

“If they don’t like it, then go to Congress and change the law. We’re going to do this operation without apology,” he said. “We’re gonna make our community safer. … It is all for the good of this nation. And we’re gonna keep going. No apologies. We’re moving forward.”

On Sunday, 956 people were arrested nationwide in the immigration raids, according to the BBC, citing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This came after 286 arrests on Saturday, and over 500 on both Friday and Thursday.

Gomez has spoken out about the immigration crisis in the past — and her personal connection.

In 2019, while promoting the Netflix docuseries, Living Documented, which she executive producer, the Rare Beauty founder shared her family origin story in an op-ed for TIME magazine.

“In the 1970s, my aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States hidden in the back of a truck,” she wrote in the essay. “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. 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,” she continued. “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.”