Days after singer-actor Selena Gomez was seen crying in a video over the Trump administration’s mass deportations, the White House on Saturday shared a clip featuring three women whose children were allegedly “murdered by illegal aliens”, a term used for undocumented immigrants.

“You don’t know who you’re crying for. What about our children who were brutally murdered, and raped and beaten to death and left on the floor by these illegal immigrants?,” Tammy Nobles, the mother of Kayla Hamilton who was reportedly killed by an El Salvadoran national in 2021, said in the video posted on White House’s official X handle.

“You didn’t cry for our daughters,” she added.

“Kayla Hamilton, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Rachel Morin were murdered by illegal aliens. Their courageous mothers had something to say to Selena Gomez and those who oppose securing our borders,” the White House said in the caption.

Kayla Hamilton, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Rachel Morin were murdered by illegal aliens.

Their courageous mothers had something to say to @SelenaGomez and those who oppose securing our borders. Watch pic.twitter.com/KfsqQGwhqj

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 31, 2025

In a now-deleted Instagram video, Ms Gomez, whose father is Mexican, described the arrests of illegal immigrants as an attack on “all my people”.

“All my people are getting attacked, 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,” she said as she broke down in tears in the video posted on January 27.

The caption on her video read, “I’m sorry,” and included a Mexican flag emoji. She, however, deleted the clip after backlash.

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Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter Jocelyn was killed last year, said it was “hard to believe” Ms Gomez in the video as “she’s an actress”.

“Seeing that video, it’s hard to believe that it’s actually genuine and real because she’s an actress. My daughter was a child. There are many other children whose lives were taken due to people who cross here illegally,” she said.

Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel was reportedly killed in 2023, said Ms Gomez’s video was “just a ruse to deceive people and to garner sympathy for lawlessness”.

The three women also thanked Donald Trump for action against illegal immigration within days of taking office on January 20 and said he is “making things happen”.

“President Trump genuinely cares for the American people and the American family,” Ms Morin said, as she vowed to stand by him to “make America safer again”.

X Users Slam White House For Selena Gomez Video

The White House, however, was slammed for the video, with several X users saying it was “inciting anger towards” Selena Gomez.

“This is disgusting – the WH official account is here shaming and inciting anger towards an individual American. Forget the politics here – if you think it’s okay for the WH to attack a citizen like this you’re in for a rude awakening when the dictator comes at you,” a user said.

“This is so grossly inappropriate and weird putting a target on Selena’s back by using the White House to personally attack a private citizen. I hope she sues y’all,” wrote another.

Many users also said the White House’s video was “very inappropriate and unprofessional”.

Earlier this week, Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, also reacted to Selena Gomez’s video and dismissed the criticism of raids carried out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“I don’t think we arrested any families. We’ve arrested public safety threats and national security threats,” he said.

“No apologies. We’re moving forward to make our communities safer,” Mr Homan concluded, citing the potential reduction in fentanyl deaths, “illegal alien” crimes, and human trafficking as outcomes of stricter border enforcement.

Washington:

The war of words between US Border Czar Tom Homan and Pope Francis has escalated, with Homan firing back at the Vatican’s leader over his criticism of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies. In a televised interview, Homan accused Pope Francis of hypocrisy, pointing to the Vatican’s own robust security measures, including a wall around the Vatican.

“They have a wall around the Vatican,” Homan said. “If you illegally enter the Vatican, the crime is serious. You’ll be charged with a serious crime and jailed. So he can protect the Vatican where he lives. He can build a wall where he lives, but the American people are not allowed that.”

Homan also called on Pope Francis to focus on addressing issues within the Catholic Church, saying “The Pope ought to stick to the Catholic Church and fix that. That’s a mess.”

NEW: Border Czar Tom Homan responds to Catholic outcry over Trump’s deportation operation, calls out the Pope for living behind massive 30 foot walls.

Homan told the Pope to fix the Catholic church before he starts criticizing the United States.

“They have a wall around the… pic.twitter.com/YTRoZ7DIH5

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 25, 2025

Pope Francis has been a vocal advocate for migrant rights, criticising restrictive immigration policies. Nearly a decade after calling Trump “not Christian” for his plans to build a US-Mexico border wall, the pontiff reiterated his stance during an appearance on the Italian talk show Che Tempo Che Fa.

“If true, this will be a disgrace,” Francis said of Trump’s deportation pledges. “It makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill. This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved.”

The Pope’s comments came as the Trump administration has intensified deportation operations, with immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) arresting 538 people on Thursday and 593 on Friday, some of whom were flown out of the country on military planes. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt touted the efforts as part of the administration’s “largest deportation operation in history,” aligning with Trump’s campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration.

The exchange between Homan and Pope Francis highlights the deep divisions over immigration policy in the United States. As the Trump administration continues to enforce stricter immigration rules, critics argue that the policies are inhumane and go against American values. Supporters, on the other hand, argue that the policies are necessary to maintain national security and enforce the rule of law.
 

Washington DC:

US President-elect Trump has set up the stage for a fiery “day one” in the Oval Office, with the promise of pardoning January 6 Capitol riot prisoners, sealing America’s southern border and rolling back protections for transgender students. To ensure the swift implementation of his radical changes, the incoming president has nominated individuals who are not only loyal to him, but bring their own ideas about how to enact the Republican’s agenda. 

We look at some of Donald Trump’s most notable pledges and his cabinet picks entrusted to deliver those promises. 

1- Mass Deportation Of Undocumented Migrants: One of the biggest pledges of Trump’s campaign was the largest mass deportations of undocumented migrants in US history. He also promised to complete the construction of the wall at the border with Mexico that was started during his first term as US president. 

To oversee his immigration promises, Trump has picked border hardliners Kristi Noem as the Homeland Security Secretary and Tom Homan as his Border tsar.

A four-term congresswoman who became governor of South Dakota in 2018, Noem is a vocal critic of President Joe Biden’s border policies. She was the first governor to send members of her state’s national guard to Texas to help with border enforcement. 

On the other hand, Homan is a former police officer who was acting director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Trump’s first term. He was an early advocate of separating children from their parents or caregivers who crossed the border without documentation, which became one of Trump’s more controversial immigration policies during his first presidential term.

2- Moves On Economy, Tax And Tariffs: Trump’s campaign had promised to “end inflation” by imposing new tariffs of at least 10 per cent on most foreign goods. He also pledged sweeping tax cuts. 

To ensure the implementation of his economic agenda, Trump nominated Howard Lutnick as Commerce Secretary and Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary.

Lutnick was the co-chair of Trump’s transition team and has backed the President-elect’s economic plans, including wide-ranging tariffs. He has also advocated for deregulation of cryptocurrencies and the elimination of income tax.

Meanwhile, Bessent is a Wall Street financier who once worked for liberal billionaire George Soros. He supports Trump’s calls for new tariffs on imports, and like Lutnick, has suggested that the US government sees tariffs primarily as a negotiating tool and not as a permanent source of US revenue.

3- Cost Cuts And Dismantle Bureaucracy: Donald Trump has pledged to restructure federal agencies and ‘dismantle’ bureaucracy by announcing a new entity called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He picked billionaire executive Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the entity.

Though not a federal department, Trump said DOGE will “provide advice and guidance” from outside the executive branch and work closely with the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to propose cuts. 

As part of his new role, Musk has suggested a possible $2tn in spending cuts and vowed to send “shockwaves” through the government. Ramaswamy has also backed the idea of dramatically shrinking the size of the federal government, streamlining agencies and cutting costs.

4- Abolish Climate Regulations: Trump has promised to cut regulations, especially in a way that helps the American car industry. He pledged to increase production of US fossil fuels on day one in favour of renewable energy sources such as wind power.

Much of this work will be overseen by North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Trump’s new energy czar and pick for Interior Secretary, along with Chris Wright, a Colorado-based natural gas fracking CEO and Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary. 

Both are staunch fossil fuel advocates, but each has also worked with clean energy.

5-Foreign Policy Change With Ending Russia-Ukraine War And China Tariffs: During his election campaign, Trump criticised the tens of billions of dollars spent by the US administration on supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia. He pledged to end the conflict “within 24 hours” through a negotiated deal. He also pledged to levy a 60 per cent tariff on all goods from China. 

To oversee his foreign policy and national security, Trump has picked Marco Rubio and Secretary of State, Michael Waltz as National security advisers and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.

Rubio, who represented Florida since 2011, is part of the Senate intelligence and foreign relations committees and is known for his hard-line positions on Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as China.

Waltz too, like Rubio, has talked tough on China. As chair of a House subcommittee, he argued that the US should prepare more for conflict in the Pacific.

A military veteran who served with a medical unit in Iraq, Gabbard has routinely opposed American foreign policy. A former Democrat, she blamed NATO for the Russia-Ukraine war and echoed a Kremlin claim that there were US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. As Trump’s intel tsar, her role will be critical for US-backed wars.

6-Affordable Care Act Repeal: Donald Trump aimed to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, and propose its replacement with a system that would lower premiums and expand health savings accounts. 

Trump picked a longtime lawyer and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F Kennedy Jr as Health and Human Services. Despite having no medical qualifications, he would have broad remit over US federal health agencies – including those that oversee approval of vaccines, whose use he wants to review.