Former NBA star turned sports analyst Charles Barkley condemned President Donald Trump's "disgrace" of an immigration crackdown in remarks on CBS on Sunday, lamenting the fates "amazing immigrants" who have been terrorized by the federal government.
Barkley pivoted to discussing immigration after CBS ran a feature on University of Connecticut star Alex Karaban, whose parents are immigrants from Eastern Europe.
He said:
âI want to be very careful with my words right now. Because this is a really touchy subject for me. I love that kid and his family, but the way some of these other immigrants are getting treated in our country right now is a travesty and a disgrace."
âI think thereâs a difference between amazing immigrants and criminal immigrants, and I think whatâs going on in our countryâwhat weâre doing to some of these amazing immigrantsâis really unfortunate and itâs really sad.â
âAnd thatâs a great immigrant storyâwe have a lot of great immigrant stories out there, whose stories need to be told. But some of the stuff thatâs happening to immigrants in our country right now is really unfortunate and is really unfair. But immigrants built this country, and we should admire them and respect them.â
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Barkley's remarks resonated with many.
Barkley is a prominent Trump critic. In 2024, he stirred controversy during an episode of CNN's King Charles when he told co-host Gayle King that if he sees a Black person wearing Trump's mugshot t-shirts he will "punch him in the face."
The discussion arose after a clip featuring Trump bragging about Black supporters embracing the shirts, which display Trump's Fulton County booking photo related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Barkley defended his remarks, calling such support "an insult to all Black people."
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