Hollywood actress and singer Selena Gomez revealed how her family came to the United States hidden in the back of a truck.
The starlet penned an emotional and powerful essay for Time magazine.
Sharing the plight of undocumented immigrants living in fear of being deported from the US, she said ‘I feel afraid for my country.’
The actress shared her own family’s story who fled to Texas from Mexico seeking a better life. “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,” she began.
She continued “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.”
The 27-year-old shared she cried while working on a series featuring undocumented immigrants because it reminded her of her own family’s plight.
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The struggle of Gomez’s family inspired her to executive produce a documentary series Living Undocumented for Netflix, for which she was approached in 2017.
Meeting one of the three documentary subjects as a Mexican-American woman, she felt moved by lending those people a voice who are afraid to speak.
“I wanted to shine a light on eight immigrant families in the US from different countries and backgrounds, all facing possible deportation,” mentioned Gomez.
“I watched footage outlining their deeply personal journeys and I cried. 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 added.
Gomez is the second-most followed woman on Instagram with over 156 million followers.
