Selena Gomez has been forced to take down the video of herself crying in response to Donald Trump’s latest executive order.
The video, shared on Instagram earlier today (27 January), showed Gomez in tears as she reacted to Trump’s plan to deport millions of immigrants.
In the clip, the Mexican-American actress and singer expressed her distress, saying, “All my people are getting attacked, the children.”
She continued: “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 the video, Gomez followed up with a message on her Instagram story. Against a black background with white text, she wrote: “Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people.”
Meanwhile, the Mexican government is preparing for the influx of thousands of deportees expected to return from the US in the coming weeks. Trump has described this as “the largest deportation in American history.”
One of the executive orders signed by Trump suspends the entry of undocumented migrants into the US under any circumstances. The order also stipulates that undocumented individuals who reach US soil cannot invoke provisions like asylum and imposes stricter requirements on those unable to provide medical and criminal histories deemed satisfactory.
Another order reinstates the controversial “Remain in Mexico” program, which mandates that non-Mexican asylum seekers wait in Mexican territory until their US hearing dates.
Gomez’s emotional posts come just a week after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. The 78-year-old Republican has wasted no time pursuing his long-standing goal of ending birthright citizenship.
When Trump speaks about birthright citizenship, he is referencing the principle of jus soli—Latin for “right of the soil.”
The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution firmly establishes this principle. Its first sentence reads: “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
This legal doctrine ensures that anyone born in the US is automatically granted citizenship, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
However, Trump’s executive order aims to alter this by denying citizenship to children born in the US unless at least one parent is a lawful permanent resident or a US citizen.
The order further directs federal agencies to stop issuing or recognizing documentation proving citizenship for such children 30 days after the order is signed.
This move primarily targets children born to unauthorized immigrants and those with parents in the US on temporary visas.
Legal experts have pointed out that birthright citizenship is protected under the 14th Amendment, meaning any attempt to revoke it would face significant legal challenges. As a result, it’s highly unlikely that Trump can eliminate birthright citizenship—certainly not through an executive order.
