Children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel has built a massive following teaching toddlers their ABCs. Now she’s teaching politics.
The YouTube star, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, traveled to New Jersey this week for a highly publicized visit outside Delaney Hall, the federal immigration detention facility in Newark, where she accused the Trump administration of “terrorizing” children through immigration enforcement.
The social media influencer shared emotional videos and posts centered on families with relatives being held by federal authorities. In one post, she highlighted the daughter of a detained man she said had lived in the United States for two decades and worked as a truck driver. The family’s story quickly became the centerpiece of her latest immigration advocacy campaign.
“Please let their kind, loving father be with his family again,” Accurso wrote.
She also questioned the government’s handling of immigration arrests, asking: “How is ripping this family apart and taking him from his children, one with severe special needs, OK? I spoke with many traumatized kids who are scared to sleep at night. Why are we terrorizing children?”
The emotional appeal generated plenty of attention online. But critics say it’s another example of celebrity activism that focuses exclusively on the hardships faced by illegal immigrants while largely ignoring the broader consequences of years of lax border enforcement.
Accurso was also filmed singing with immigration activists and detainees’ family members outside the facility. The lyrics included the line: “Together we’ll sing down the walls everywhere… together we’ll sing until everyone’s free.”
The performance may have played well on Instagram, but it drew a sharp response from the Department of Homeland Security. Federal officials flatly rejected claims that immigration authorities are deliberately separating families. A DHS spokesperson pushed back on the narrative being promoted by activists and celebrities, arguing that critics rarely mention the thousands of vulnerable children exploited by criminal smuggling networks during the historic border surge of the Biden years.
“ICE does not separate families,” the spokesperson said. “Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates.”
The department further noted that federal authorities have spent years attempting to locate and protect hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who entered the country during the previous administration and were later lost within the system or placed with inadequately vetted sponsors.
According to DHS, the agency remains focused on child protection efforts and family reunification while carrying out immigration law.
Undeterred, Accurso took her campaign to Washington this week, saying she was meeting with lawmakers to advocate against family detention policies. “End family detention and separation and unite in not wanting to be people who harm, abuse, traumatize and terrify children,” she said.
She added that she delivered letters from children whose parents are currently being held in detention facilities to both Republican and Democratic offices. “This is not a partisan issue,” Accurso argued. “We will all look back on this time and remember if we stood with children being abused in detention centers or with corporations making millions and harming them with our tax dollars.”
That claim, however, is likely to raise eyebrows among conservatives who point out that immigration enforcement itself is hardly a fringe political issue. Voters returned President Trump to office largely on promises to restore border security after years of record-breaking illegal crossings, overwhelmed communities, and growing concerns about public safety and cartel activity.
Just days earlier, multiple anti-ICE protesters were reportedly arrested after authorities accused demonstrators of obstructing officers, making threats, and assaulting law enforcement personnel during confrontations outside the facility.
The Newark visit is hardly Accurso’s first foray into contentious political territory. Earlier this year, she visited families connected to a South Texas immigration processing center and openly embraced criticism that she was becoming political.
“I am political,” Accurso said in a previous interview. “It’s political to believe that children are worthy of love and care, and that every child is equal, and that our care shouldn’t stop at what we look like, our family, at our religion, at a border.”
That statement may resonate with her supporters, but detractors argue it oversimplifies a complex debate. The dispute is not whether children deserve compassion — virtually everyone agrees they do. The disagreement is whether enforcing immigration law constitutes cruelty, or whether failing to enforce it creates even greater humanitarian problems.
Accurso’s activism has extended far beyond immigration. Over the past two years she has become increasingly outspoken on international issues, particularly the war in Gaza. Her public comments and social media activity have repeatedly sparked controversy, including criticism over her reliance on casualty figures supplied by Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health authorities.
Earlier this year, she also faced backlash after accidentally liking an antisemitic comment online, prompting a public apology. “I do not support language that targets or harms the Jewish community or any community,” she said. “Antisemitism and hate of any kind have no place in my life or my work. Everything I do is rooted in kindness, inclusion, and care for all humanity. Those values guide me every day, and I remain firmly committed to them.”
Ms Rachel is outside Delaney Hall DHS center in NJ singing about knocking down walls and freeing criminal illegal aliens.
Parents, keep your kids away! pic.twitter.com/MswGteLXM7
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 10, 2026
