NBA legend Charles Barkley did the one thing a sportscaster should never, ever do under any circumstances. He went full liberal nutjob on live television and transformed CBS's broadcast of March Madness on Saturday into a political rant against the Trump administration's push to boot illegal aliens from the country. Barkley really should stick to the handful of subjects he actually knows about, including basketball and… well, basketball.
The network aired a segment during its coverage of the popular college basketball tournament, highlighting UConn Huskies star player Alex Karaban. Barkley, for some reason, decided that was a good time to politically rail against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers for doing their jobs to keep the country safe by enforcing the law.
Much of the piece focused on Karaban's family. His mom, Olga, moved from Ukraine to Massachusetts with her parents in 1996. Karaban's father, Alexei, entered the United States from Belarus on a work visa in 2001. After the segment ended, Barkley complained about how the country treats legal immigrants.
"I want to be careful with my words right now because this is a really touchy subject for me," he lamented. "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."
Barkley seems to misunderstand that the only true "amazing" immigrants are the ones who actually respect our country's laws and come to the U.S. legally. We welcome these individuals here with open arms. People who put in the effort to obey immigration laws typically follow the law and understand the blessed freedom they will enjoy once they arrive.
Criminal illegals represent the pond scum of society who sneak in the back window because they belong to violent gangs, cartels, or have rap sheets a mile long and want to escape the consequences of their actions. Instead of reforming, they often bring their illegal behavior into our nation and victimize our fellow citizens.
"And that’s a great immigrant story. We have a lot of great immigrant stories out there that 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," the former basketball superstar continued.
Of course, like most liberals, Barkley failed to present any examples of legal immigrants suffering mistreatment in the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security regularly releases information about officers busting criminal illegal aliens who have committed egregious crimes in the country. Yet despite all the risks ICE officers and other border patrol agents take to keep our cities safe, liberals and progressive-leaning news outlets bash them over and over again. It's sickening and anti-American.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently offered yet another criticism of ICE just before the ridiculous left-wing "No Kings" rallies that activists held. Big shock that the Democratic Socialist opposes a president who takes the preservation of our culture and safety seriously, right?
"We're making clear that no one is above the law in this city, that everyone has to follow the rule of law," Mamdani said. "I have made clear to the president, both in our private conversations and our public conversations, that I believe ICE is a rogue agency."
Mamdani then called ICE "reckless" and accused the agency of delivering "nothing toward the furthering of the cause of public safety."
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