Selena Gomez opens up about her aunt immigrating to the U.S. 'in the back of a truck'
TIME has published a new op-ed by Selena Gomez about immigration, in which she describes her father’s family’s move to the U.S. from Mexico, and the fear she feels for undocumented immigrants and the national conversation around the issue.
The essay comes the day before the launch of the Netflix series Living Undocumented, of which Gomez is an executive producer.
“In the 1970s, my aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States hidden in the back of a truck. 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,” writes Gomez.
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“Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day, and 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.”
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Living Undocumented explores the effects of immigration policy on eight families facing deportation. Gomez recalls crying when she first watched the footage introducing them: “It captured the shame, uncertainty, and fear I saw my own family struggle with. But it also captured the hope, optimism, and patriotism so many undocumented immigrants still hold in their hearts despite the hell they go through.”
She briefly describes her meetings with some of the subjects of the show: an Israeli-born Dreamer, and two brothers from a family who fled drug-trade violence in Colombia over 15 years ago, whose father was detained by ICE in August and deported.
Gomez doesn’t mention President Donald Trump by name, and her choice of words is careful and mild, but her meaning is clear.
“I’m concerned about the way people are being treated in my country. As a Mexican-American woman I feel a responsibility to use my platform to be a voice for people who are too afraid to speak.”
As one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and one who’s mostly kept her political views to herself, Gomez acknowledges the risk of alienating a portion of her audience by daring to help humanize undocumented immigrants.
“When I signed on to executive produce a show about undocumented immigrants, I couldn’t help but anticipate the criticisms I might face,” she writes.
“But the truth is, the worst criticism I can imagine is still nothing compared to what undocumented immigrants face every day. Fear shouldn’t stop us from getting involved and educating ourselves on an issue that affects millions of people in our country. Fear didn’t stop my aunt from getting into the back of that truck.”
Living Undocumented will be available on Netflix from Oct. 2.
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Caitlin is Mashable's Australian Editor. She has written for The Guardian, Junkee, and any number of plucky little music and culture publications that were run on the smell of an oily rag and have since been flushed off the Internet like a dead goldfish by their new owners. She also worked at Choice, Australia's consumer advocacy non-profit and magazine, and as such has surprisingly strong opinions about whitegoods. She enjoys big dumb action movies, big clever action movies, cult Canadian comedies set in small towns, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Replacements, smoky mezcal, revenge bedtime procrastination, and being left the hell alone when she's reading.
