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Richard Gere Says He Is 'Ashamed' of U.S. Migration Policy
🇵🇦 Panama /Culture & Society

Richard Gere Says He Is 'Ashamed' of U.S. Migration Policy

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Hollywood actor Richard Gere expressed shame over the United States' immigration policies during a visit to Berlin.
  • Gere criticized the U.S. government's terminology for immigrants, calling it dehumanizing and expressing embarrassment.
  • He launched a joint initiative with the Hertie School in Berlin aimed at fostering new perspectives and policies on migration, focusing on the Africa-to-Europe route.

Hollywood star Richard Gere voiced deep shame regarding the United States' immigration policies, describing them as a source of personal embarrassment during a press conference in Berlin. The 76-year-old actor, presenting a new initiative focused on migration, stated that the way migrants and refugees are discussed and treated is fundamentally flawed.

"Everyone is an immigrant, a refugee, or a migrant," Gere asserted at the launch of the collaboration between his foundation and the Hertie School, a Berlin-based public policy university. He lamented the tendency to categorize migrants as separate from 'us,' belonging to a different class of human beings. "The U.S. government calls them 'aliens,'" Gere noted, a fervent critic of former President Donald Trump. "First they were 'parasites,' now they are 'aliens.' I am profoundly ashamed of this, I want you to know."

Everyone is an immigrant, a refugee, or a migrant. We often talk about migrants, refugees, as if they were different from us. As if they belonged to another category of human beings.

— Richard GereExplaining his perspective on migration during the launch of a new initiative.

The Joint Initiative on Migration will concentrate on migration from Africa to Europe. Its stated goal is to contribute to the development of "a new perspective, new policies, and new measures on migration," according to the Hertie School. This initiative reflects Gere's long-standing commitment to humanitarian causes, which includes significant support for refugee aid, public health, education, and emergency relief, particularly within Tibetan communities.

This is not the first time Gere has publicly criticized the Trump administration's policies. Just days prior, at an awards ceremony in Oslo, he called the former president "crazy" and accused him of "dismantling almost everything good" about the United States. Gere, who converted to Buddhism and is a prominent advocate for Tibet, has dedicated decades to humanitarian work. He currently resides in Spain with his wife, Alejandra Silva.

The U.S. government calls them 'aliens.' First they were 'parasites,' now they are 'aliens.' I am profoundly ashamed of this, I want you to know.

— Richard GereCriticizing the terminology used by the U.S. government for immigrants.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by TVN Panamá in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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