Basketball legend Charles Barkley attacks Trump’s immigration policies during the NCAA tournament. Credit: CBS screenshot
Americans who were tuning in to watch Sunday’s classic Duke-UConn Elite Eight NCAA Tournament matchup were treated to an immigration lecture from legendary NBA player and broadcaster Charles Barkley. And they were not happy.
As Fox News reported, CBS shared a legal immigration story concerning UConn star forward Alex Karaban during the pregame. They talked about how his mother arrived in Massachusetts from Ukraine with her parents and grandparents in 1996.
Meanwhile, Karaban’s father, Alexei, immigrated to the U.S. from Belarus on a work visa in 2001. One year later, Alex was born in Southborough.
Despite the story’s non-political nature, Sir Charles used the moment to launch an ill-informed attack on President Trump’s immigration policies, calling the treatment of immigrants in America “a travesty and disgrace.”
In the process, he not only failed to provide a single example of immigrants being abused, but also made no distinction between illegal and legal migrants.
Barkley then closed by saying that immigrants built America and said everyone should respect them. Once again, he failed to distinguish between legal and illegal aliens.
WATCH:
“The way some of these other immigrants are getting treated in our country right now is a travesty and a disgrace… I think what’s going on in our country, what we’re doing to some of these amazing immigrants, is really unfortunate and it’s really sad.” – Charles Barkley on CBS pic.twitter.com/uEllZpD57u
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 29, 2026
BARKLEY: I want to be 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.
I think there’s a difference between amazing immigrants and criminal immigrants. I think what’s going on in our country, what we’re doing to some of these amazing immigrants, is really unfortunate, and it’s really sad.
And that’s a great immigrant story. We have a lot of great immigrant stories out there that their stories need to be told, but some of the stuff that’s happening to immigrants in our country right now is really unfortunate, and it’s really unfair.
But immigrants built this country, and we should admire them and respect them.
Unlike UConn’s miraculous game-winning three with 0.4 seconds left following a Duke turnover, this take from Barkley proved a complete airball with Americans.
Charles Barkley: “There’s a difference between amazing immigrants and criminal immigrants.”
No, Chuck.
The real difference is between LEGAL immigrants and ILLEGAL immigrants.
Alex Karaban is a first-generation American citizen. His parents came here the right way. pic.twitter.com/9XQ8uv7ILE
— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) March 30, 2026
Yeah, Charles sits in his mansion protected from the criminals that Biden let in. Fvck you.
— Trina (@AClDBURN67) March 30, 2026
I can appreciate Charles Barkley’s heart, but this is inappropriate and unprofessional.
He made the segment overtly political when it didn’t need to be.
Wanna share your thoughts about illegal immigration and ICE? Do it elsewhere.
Keep March Madness coverage apolitical.
— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) March 30, 2026
Charles Barkley is too dumb to know the difference between a legal immigrant and an illegal immigrant.
— Right Winged Angel (@RightWngdAngel) March 29, 2026
Charles Barkley: this is MARCH MADNESS. We don’t want to hear your unintelligent, indecipherable takes on politics. You’ve always been great with entertaining us (regarding basketball—even when you’ve not done your homework) but you’re bollocks when it comes to politics. STHU.
— Uncle Jack (@JackDentsTweets) March 29, 2026
He has plenty of room to house a few hundred and feed them. pic.twitter.com/zq3FGuPMP6
— OhioSportsHistory (@history_oh61180) March 30, 2026
GTFO Chuck, stop the moral grandstanding. When Obama was being called the “Deporter in Chief” none of these people said a fucking word. They didn’t give one single fuck about the illegals. Now they just parrot all of these bullshit claims that all illegals are somehow being…
— kentuckytrailerpark.trash (@kytrailerpark) March 30, 2026
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