Selena Gomez has reflected on immigration and her own family’s journey to America, while revealing she is fearful for the future of the country.
In an op-ed published by Time magazine on Tuesday, the singer recounts how her aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States in the back of a truck in the 1970s, before other family members followed later.
“My grandparents followed, and my father was born in Texas soon after,” the 27-year-old wrote. “In 1992, I was born a US 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, and I never forget how blessed I am to have been born in this country thanks to my family and the grace of circumstance.”
Gomez then goes on to say that the current debate surrounding immigration in the US has her “afraid for those in similar situations” and “afraid for my country”.
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Immigrant children, many of whom are separated form their parents, are housed in Texas’ tent city
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A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border
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Undocumented migrants ride on the top of a freight train referred to as the beast, or La Bestia
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A cage inside a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility in Texas
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5/14 US Border Patrol Academy
All new agents must complete a months-long training course at the New Mexico facility before assuming their posts at Border Patrol stations, mostly along the US-Mexico border
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6/14 US-Mexico border fence
A group of young men walk along the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border fence in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert
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7/14 US-Mexico border fence in the US
Man looks through US-Mexico border fence into the US in Tijuana, Mexico
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US Border Patrol agent Sal De Leon stands near a section of the US-Mexico border fence while stopping on patrol on in La Joya, Texas
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9/14 US Border Patrol Academy
US Border Patrol instructor yells at trainees after their initial arrival to the academy
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10/14 Memorial service in Guatemala
Families attend a memorial service for two boys who were kidnapped and killed in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala. Crime drives emigration from Guatemala to the United States, as families seek refuge from the danger
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11/14 Arrests on the border
Undocumented immigrants comfort each other after being caught by Border Patrol agents near the US-Mexico border
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A boy from Honduras watches a movie at a detention facility run by the US Border Patrol
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13/14 Mexican farm workers
Mexican migrant workers harvest organic parsley at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colorado
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14/14 Mexican family in Arizona
A Mexican immigrant family sits in the living room of their rented home in Tuscon, Arizona. The family that Arizona’s new tough immigrant law had created a climate of fear in the immigrant community.
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Immigrant children, many of whom are separated form their parents, are housed in Texas’ tent city
Reuters
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A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border
Getty
3/14
Undocumented migrants ride on the top of a freight train referred to as the beast, or La Bestia
Getty
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A cage inside a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility in Texas
Reuters
5/14 US Border Patrol Academy
All new agents must complete a months-long training course at the New Mexico facility before assuming their posts at Border Patrol stations, mostly along the US-Mexico border
Getty
6/14 US-Mexico border fence
A group of young men walk along the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border fence in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert
Getty
7/14 US-Mexico border fence in the US
Man looks through US-Mexico border fence into the US in Tijuana, Mexico
Getty
8/14 US-Mexico border fence
US Border Patrol agent Sal De Leon stands near a section of the US-Mexico border fence while stopping on patrol on in La Joya, Texas
Getty
9/14 US Border Patrol Academy
US Border Patrol instructor yells at trainees after their initial arrival to the academy
Getty
10/14 Memorial service in Guatemala
Families attend a memorial service for two boys who were kidnapped and killed in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala. Crime drives emigration from Guatemala to the United States, as families seek refuge from the danger
Getty
11/14 Arrests on the border
Undocumented immigrants comfort each other after being caught by Border Patrol agents near the US-Mexico border
Getty
12/14 Detention holding facility
A boy from Honduras watches a movie at a detention facility run by the US Border Patrol
Getty
13/14 Mexican farm workers
Mexican migrant workers harvest organic parsley at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colorado
Getty
14/14 Mexican family in Arizona
A Mexican immigrant family sits in the living room of their rented home in Tuscon, Arizona. The family that Arizona’s new tough immigrant law had created a climate of fear in the immigrant community.
Getty
The singer continued, explaining that while she does not “claim to be an expert”, immigration is a “human issue” and that the country must “listen” to those who are affected.
“Immigration goes beyond politics and headlines,” she wrote. “It is a human issue, affecting real people, dismantling real lives.
“How we deal with it speaks to our humanity, our empathy, our compassion. How we treat our fellow human beings defines who we are.”
Gomez also revealed that she was approached in 2017 about being an executive producer for a Netflix series called “Living Undocumented”, which follows eight immigrant families in the US facing possible deportation.
According to the I Can’t Get Enough singer, she watched footage from the series and cried because it captures “the shame, uncertainty and fear” that her own family faced.
“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 wrote.
Gomez concluded the op-ed explaining that she is “concerned” by the way immigrants are being treated in the US, but that she hopes to use her platform to help.
And while Gomez anticipates facing criticism for her involvement in the show, she said the criticism is “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,” she wrote. “Fear didn’t stop my aunt from getting into the back of that truck. And for that, I will always be grateful.”
