The deportations of illegal immigrants in the country ordered by President Donald Trump keep Michelle Obama awake at night. That is what the former first lady told podcast host Jay Shetty in an episode released on Monday.
Shetty, Obama, and her brother Craig Robinson discussed their fears growing up. Shetty then asked the former president’s wife about her current concerns. He asked Obama to identify the “hardest recent test of that fear.” She replied with her current worries about illegal immigrants in the U.S. who were being deported.
“In this current climate, for me, it’s what’s happening to immigrants,” Obama said during an interview for the “On Purpose with Jay Shetty” podcast.
She then explained how she progressed from safety concerns about herself and her family to illegal immigrants.
“I drive around in a four-car motorcade with a police escort,” she explained. “I’m Michelle Obama. I do still worry about my daughters in the world, even though they are somewhat recognizable. So, my fears are for what I know is happening out there in streets all over the city.”
She then accused the Trump administration of making decisions to deport illegal immigrants without court rulings and legitimate due process.
“And we know that those decisions aren’t being made with courts and with due process,” echoing a left-wing claim that has been proven false. She also lamented the large amounts of racism prevalent in the country, which, she said, was the impetus for such choices.
“There’s so much bias and so much racism and so much ignorance that fuels those kind of choices,” Obama said. “I worry for people of color all over this country, and I don’t know that we will have the advocates to protect everybody. And that makes me, that frightens me. It keeps me up at night.”
“And I know that there are, and I see that when I’m driving around L.A. I’m just looking in the faces of folks who could be victim, and I’m wondering, how are you feeling?” she asked. “How do you feel standing on the bus stop? How do you feel comfortable going to work, going to school when you know that there could be people out here judging you and who could upend your life in a second?”
“You know, that’s who I worry for right now. ”That’s who I worry for right now,” said Obama.