Celebs Share Their Immigration Stories

In case it wasn’t clear, President Trump isn’t very popular among the Hollywood set — and his recent immigration ban hasn’t helped. While many civilians gathered at airports around the country in protest, celebrities spoke out about their own immigrant backgrounds (or those of people they love). They took to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and the SAG Awards acceptance podium to make their points heard, and while each story was unique, they all shared a decidedly disgusted, heartbroken tone.

Christy Turlington shared a vintage photo via Instagram with the story of her family’s history. “My mother, Elizabeth, and uncle, Jaime, with their dad shortly after reuniting with him in Santa Monica, California after two years living apart,” she began. “Can you even imagine that?” she asked. “My grandfather Horacio Parker immigrated to Los Angeles from El Salvador in the 1940’s, leaving behind my grandmother and their two children until he settled in and arranged for them to meet him there. My grandmother, Maria Infante Parker, had lost her third child, a little boy, before he left for the U.S. My mom tells a story about when they landed at LAX and didn’t recognize their father who came to collect them with a friend because it had been so long since she had seen him.”

She went on to praise her grandparents for taking risks and working hard to “give their children every opportunity they could afford to ensure their future success as free human beings.” She closed her touching tribute by thanking these family members who came before her “for doing the hard work to ensure your children would understand the sacrifices made to call this country theirs, to become American citizens, and empathize with countless others who have come to this country. #iamanimmigrant #nobannowall.”

Liev Schreiber echoed Turlington’s sentiments, posting an image of his two sons beside their grandfather. “We are a nation of grandchildren, of immigrants. Refugees of war and intolerance who came here to find a better way. A better life. Freedom. That’s who we are. #immigrants,” he shared.

Mark Zuckerberg appropriately took to Facebook to share his thoughts on the situation, describing how his “great grandparents came from Germany, Austria and Poland” to the United States and noting that his wife’s parents were “refugees from China and Vietnam.” The Silicon Valley heavyweight went on to say that he was “concerned about the impact of the recent executive orders,” arguing that the focus should be “on people who actually pose a threat.” He closed his posting with another personal story, writing, “These issues are personal for me even beyond my family. A few years ago, I taught a class at a local middle school where some of my best students were undocumented. They are our future too. We are a nation of immigrants, and we all benefit when the best and brightest from around the world can live, work and contribute here.”

Model Anne V shared a snapshot of herself and her mother from when she first arrived in New York. “I’ve lived in the US for the last 15 years and proud to call myself an American. I’ve never been a refugee but I have always felt like one,” she explained. “I came with no family, no English, no life knowledge a week before September 11th, it was scary and lonely and I had to figure out where I belonged.” She went on to say that she had always felt supported, and lamented that the current climate no longer seemed that way. “It’s so scary to me that right now we are not being that country, that right now, our country that I love so much doesn’t believe in humanity and judges people based on where they come from, their nationality, their religion,” she lamented. “I came here with nothing but a dream and want to be sure that dream stays alive for all of us.”

Like Ann V, Iman shared a brief note about her own history, declaring, “I am the face of an immigrant. Hard working, job creating, & tax paying!” It was short and sweet and got her point across.

Alyssa Milano posted a photo of herself with her bestie. “My best friend, Alaa Mohammad Khaled, is Muslim. His parents were Palestinian refugees. His brother is DJ Khaled,” she wrote.

Ashton Kutcher also tweeted about his close ties to immigrants, explaining that he is married to one. “My wife came to this country on a refugee visa in the middle of the Cold War! My blood is boiling right now!” he wrote, referencing Mila Kunis, who emigrated from her native Ukraine to the United States in the early ’90s. “We have never been a nation built on fear. Compassion that is the root ethic of America. Our differences are fundamental 2R sustainability.”

Ewan McGregor chimed in to share his own experience meeting refugees.

On Sunday night, Julia Louis-Dreyfus added her voice to the chorus during her SAG acceptance speech.

After taking the stage to accept her award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series (for Veep), the star explained, “I want you all to know that I am the daughter of an immigrant. My father fled religious persecution in Nazi-occupied France. I am an American patriot, and I love this country, and because I love this country, I am horrified by its blemishes. This immigrant ban is a blemish, and it is un-American.”

President Trump has yet to respond to this wave of protests via personal stories, but that hardly means that he won’t.