Selena Gomez, singer/songwriter, actress and UNICEF Ambassador from 2009 to 2014, recently wrote a powerful essay regarding the status of the illegal immigrants in the United States.
She is an executive producer for a Netflix TV show which was aired on 2nd October 2019, called 'Living Undocumented'. The documentary is about “eight immigrant families" who are living in the U.S. from different countries and backgrounds all facing possible deportation.”
Undocumented immigrants in the United States
Undocumented immigrants are people who live in the United States without US citizenship or any legal documents to justify their stay in the country.
The President of the United States, Donald Trump continues to focus on tightening immigration policies, especially for those undocumented immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning on taking DNA samples from each of the undocumented immigrants and store it in a national database for criminal DNA profiles.
In a recent report from the Pew Research Center on 12th July 2019, the number of undocumented immigrants living in the US has now decreased in numbers as compared to the year 2004. The report from PEW also showed that Mexicans are no longer the major population of undocumented immigrants. Many of them, from countries like Central America and Asia, are the ones who make up for most of the illegal immigrants in the country.
Selena Gomez powerful essay
Selena Gomez began her essay by revealing the hardship that her aunt and grandparents experienced coming to the United States from Mexico, “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.”
The singer also wrote in her essay on how politicians in the United States often discuss and plan different ways of tightening the immigration policy, without even taking into consideration the families of those who might be affected by these policies.
“But Immigration goes beyond politics and headlines. It is a human issue, affecting real people, dismantling real lives.”
Last month, Selena met Bar, Pablo, and Camilo who were featured in the series, 'Living Undocumented'. Each one of them shared their own personal stories about the struggle they experienced with the immigration policy in the country.
Selena Gomez decided to become the executive producer for this documentary series because she wanted to shed light on the daily struggles of undocumented immigrant families. She also wanted to use her platform to raise awareness about the immigration policy in the United States.
