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“Star Wars” franchise star Diego Luna trashed President Donald Trump’s “authoritarian” immigration policies while he was guest-hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday.
Luna argued that “nobody leaves their land if it’s not because their survival depends on it,” and slammed the Trump administration for its efforts to deport those living in the country illegally.
The actor opened up the show by addressing how important he felt it was for a Mexican to be hosting the show “with everything going on in this country around immigration and the authoritarian policies of Donald Trump.”
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Luna called President Trump’s immigration policies “authoritarian” and “very unfair” while guest-hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on Monday. (Screenshot/ABC)
“I know, it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal, and I really hope not to f— it up,” he told the audience. “The first time that I voluntarily set foot in the territory known as the United States, I was 20 years old, after the success of [2001 film] ‘Y Tu Mamá También.’”
Luna, who starred in the “Star Wars” series “Andor” and movie “Rogue One,” went on to detail his experience of traveling to Los Angeles to work on film productions and the comfort he found in the large immigrant community in the city.
“I spent long seasons working here back when people still made movies in L.A., until I felt alone and homesick. And just as I felt that, I immediately found a community that came out to support me, to show me their love, and to remind me that something holds us together — our common roots,” he said.
The “Andor” star shared that the people who lifted him up and supported him throughout his career were immigrants — or children of immigrants — who came to the U.S. “in order to work and build a healthy, enjoyable, and dignified life, away from their place of origin.”
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The “Andor” star argued that immigrants “are the ones who build this country.” (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images for Disney)
According to Luna, all the immigrants he’s met in the city share an “unspoken gratitude” for the U.S., while also contributing to the “cultural exchange” in L.A. by bringing their stories, loyalties and traditions from home with them.
Luna questioned how the president was able to “acquire this level of power” and how his “hate speech” was able to take root in America.
Earlier, in his opening monologue, the actor called the administration’s deportations in L.A. “very unfair” and claimed that “the multiple times that this country has had to rebuild itself, immigrants were always there to pick up the slack.”
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“These have been a dark few weeks,” he said in closing. “It is not acceptable nor is it normal to separate families. Violence and terror are not OK. Immigrants need to know that their struggle is yours as well.”