Trump’s ‘border czar’ coldly rebuffs Selena Gomez’s tearful message over ICE raids

Donald Trump’s “border czar” has hit out at Selena Gomez after she shared a – now-deleted – video showing her tearfully breaking down over the Trump administration’s promised immigration raids.

Mass deportation of undocumented migrants was a central campaign promise of the Trump-Vance ticket and following Trump’s return to the White House the Republican leader implemented a raft of executive actions to overhaul the US immigration system.

On Sunday (26 January) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) estimated a nationwide immigration crackdown which led to nearly 1,000 arrests, and the White House has also shared an image of men in shackles being led to a plane with the caption: “Deportation flights have begun.”

In response Gomez, who is of Mexican heritage, shared the emotional video to Instagram on Monday (27 January).

“I just want to say that I’m so sorry. All my people are getting attacked,” the 32-year-old Emilia Pérez star told viewers, her eyes red and tears streaming down her cheeks.

“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.”

Gomez subsequently deleted it, replacing it with a post that stated: “Apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people.” That post, too, has now been deleted.

In response to Gomez’s video, Tom Homan – Trump’s so-called “border czar” – told Fox News he did not believe ICE had arrested any families but had taken into custody “public safety threats and national security threats, bottom line.”

“President Trump won the election on this one issue – securing our border and saving lives,” he said.

“What happened on our southern border in the last four years is the biggest national security threat our county has seen, at least in my lifetime.”

Homan continued: “We’re going to do this job and we’re going to enforce the laws of this country, if they don’t like it, then go to Congress and change the law. We’re going to do this operation without apology.”

Homan claimed the deportations will allegedly result in lower crime rates and deaths from fentanyl.

“No apologies, we’re moving forward.”

Some of Gomez’s fiercest critics were, unsurprisingly, Trump supporters – who accused the actress of performative tears and making the video for attention.

“This is why we don’t take our political advice from Disney child stars,” right-wing political commentator Tomi Lahren wrote on X.

Sam Parker, a Republican candidate who sought election to the Senate in 2018, called for Gomez to be “deported.”

“Selena Gomez picked illegals over America b/c she’s the 3rd gen descendent of Mexican illegals who received citizenship in the ‘87 Amnesty,” Park went on to say in a separate post.

“She has an entitlement attitude toward America, like her illegal g’parents. Maybe Selena should be deported, too?”

Gomez, who is a US citizen, brushed off the comment, writing: “Oh Mr Parker, Mr Parker. Thanks for the laugh and the threat.”