Andor star Diego Luna has earned a huge standing ovation after delivering an impassioned speech against US president Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The Mexican actor, who has been widely praised for his role as Cassian Andor in the Star Wars spin-off series, is standing in as guest host on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week.
In his opening monologue, Luna defended undocumented workers and lambasted Trump’s “hate speech”.
“I have never been able to fully understand how it is that someone like Donald Trump is able to acquire this level of power,” said the 45-year-old. “I always struggle to understand how his hate speech can take root in a country whose nature has always been a welcoming one.”
Luna then turned his attention to reports that employees at farms, hotels, restaurants and cattle ranches have been scared off from turning up to work due to fears that businesses could be targeted by ICE.
“Today many people are feeling persecuted. Far too many people live in fear. Fear of taking their kids to school or going to places where they can earn an honest living. These people, they’re your neighbours, your friends.
“This is very unfair and let me tell you why,” Luna said. “The multiple times that this country has had to rebuild itself, immigrants were always there to pick up the slack.
“They are the ones who build this country. They feed it. They nurture and teach it’s children. They care for the elderly,” he said. “They work in construction, hospitality. They run kitchens. They’re technicians, merchants, athletes, drivers, farmers.”
Luna concluded by offering a remedy to the issue.
“The only solution is clear now, and it’s been clear for decades: Give them a path to legal certainty,” he said. “This is what your neighbours really deserve to be fully welcome in this country, where they already belong.”
He then encouraged everyone watching to call the representatives in Congress, adding: “If you want to support those affected or who may need assistance, there are some great organisations that are doing exactly that like Public Counsel and Kids in Need of Defense. I urge you to learn more about these organisations. Thank you for listening.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration reportedly reversed a recently formulated plan to refrain from conducting immigration raids against undocumented migrants in the agricultural, hotel, and restaurant industries, just days after adopting the original policy.
The Department of Homeland Security announced the return to these raids on Monday 16 June, during a morning call with representatives from 30 Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices, The Washington Post reported.
Demonstrations broke out across the US this month to protest the workplace raids carried out by ICE in workplaces in Los Angeles, which saw Trump respond by deploying the National Guard and US Marines.
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