NBA star Tristan Thompson says he ‘understands’ Trump’s immigration stance

Veteran NBA player Tristan Thompson gave his nuanced thoughts on the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration as a legal immigrant.

“What President [Donald] Trump is doing, first of all, I love what he’s done so far for our country,” Thompson said in a preview for an upcoming episode of “The Katie Miller Podcast.” “I think he’s helped our country a lot.”

He added, “In terms of where he stands with [immigration], I think…I’m a firm believer because I have family members and I have people that are immigrants. I believe for those that do the thing the right way and get the papers, I think they should be taken care of first and foremost. I think that’s the right thing. I think that’s the right way of going about it.”

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Thompson, a free agent who most recently played with the Cleveland Cavaliers, empathized with several people he described as being “in-between states” of getting their legal papers, describing a more “nuanced” position on immigration.

“I think it should be case by case on the right people. I understand where he’s coming from, but for me, it varies depending on who the person is,” Thompson said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

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Thompson was born in Canada but became a U.S. citizen in 2020 during the first Trump administration ahead of joining the Boston Celtics.

“I came to the U.S. on a student visa and have always had big dreams. I’m now truly living the American dream,” Thompson said at the time, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

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Thompson told Miller that the process was surprisingly quick but denied that his NBA status had any influence.

“I think it was just because of the pandemic, so they were just quick with it,” Thompson said.

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The full episode of Miller’s interview with Thompson will be available Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Rumble and X.