Selena Gomez, the pop sensation and entrepreneur, recently faced criticism from Utah Republican Senate candidate Sam Parker after she shared an emotional video expressing sympathy for Mexican migrants. In the tearful video, which she later deleted amid backlash from conservative groups, Gomez voiced her concerns over the mistreatment of migrant children. "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," she said, captioning the post with an apology, “I'm sorry” and a Mexican flag emoji.

However, her video did not sit well with Parker, who responded with a controversial statement on social media. Writing on an alternate account before sharing it on his professional profile, Parker accused Gomez of prioritising “illegals” over American citizens and questioned her allegiance to the country. “Deport Selena Gomez,” Parker wrote, adding that she “chose illegals over Americans” because she is a descendant of Mexican immigrants who were granted citizenship during the 1987 Amnesty. He continued, implying that Gomez’s family’s immigration history somehow invalidated her stance on migrant rights.

Gomez, never one to back down from defending her beliefs, took to Instagram Stories to respond. In a dismissive tone, she wrote, “Oh, Mr. Parker, Mr. Parker,” followed by a sarcastic, “Thanks for the laugh and the threat.” The post quickly gained attention from her followers and the media but has since disappeared from her account. 

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Selena Gomez's Fight For Immigrant Rights

Gomez's advocacy for immigrants is well-established. In 2019, she produced Living Undocumented, a Netflix docuseries that highlighted the stories of eight families facing deportation under the Trump administration. The series gave a human face to the often dehumanising discourse surrounding immigration policy. Furthermore, Gomez has been open about her own family’s history, detailing in a Time essay how her aunt and grandparents crossed the Mexican border to start a new life in the US before she was born.

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