Bobbi Althoff using her platform to address immigration after close friend arrested by ICE
A Sothern California social media influencer is using her platform to speak out about the Trump administration's immigration policies after a close family friend was arrested by federal agents earlier this week.
Bobbi Althoff, who has 8.2 million followers on TikTok and 3.7 million followers on Instagram, said she's already lost followers for speaking out but added she's not going to be silenced.
She's now urging other celebrities and social media influencers to speak out as well.
"I've been told to not speak up on politics if I want to keep making the money that I am making on social media, but for me, I don't want to be on the wrong side of history," said Althoff outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Adelanto, where her friend is being held.
"And I feel very passionately that what's happening right now, especially with immigration, is so wrong."
Althoff said Felix Morales Gomez, who she's known her entire life, came to the United States in 2004. He's had no criminal convictions.
While Althoff acknowledges he doesn't have legal status here, she said he is a hard-working man who supports his family.
She said he was arrested by ICE agents in a parking lot for The Home Depot in Corona on Monday, as he and a group of other day laborers were waiting for work.
"Going up to car washes, and Home Depots - you're taking hard working people away, people who are not criminals who have not done anything wrong here," said Althoff. "And I know people are going to say, 'well they broke the law,' but there is no explanation or justification for what they're doing to these people at all."
Althoff, joined by Morales Gomez's niece and church pastor, scheduled an appointment to meet him Thursday afternoon at the ICE facility where he's being held.
"I'm very worried, because it's not the way we wanted him to go," said Ermelinda Estevan about the possibility that her uncle will be deported.
"If the government wants him out, I'm pretty sure he's going to understand and go by his own will. But peacefully, because he's never done anything wrong to this country or to anyone."
Althoff, who now hosts a podcast, got her start as a social media influencer during the pandemic, posting videos with dry humor, many of which went viral. She starting posting about politics during the Israeli-Hamas war, and has already lost a number of followers.
But she said she doesn't care.
"I voted for Trump in the first election. I was an 18-year-old person who was so naïve. And I think that's really it, too: people are so naïve to what it really means to the families this is happening to and that they're breaking apart."
"I have a large platform, and I have a lot of people who consume my content every day, so if I can change just one person's mind, I think that's at least a start."
