Comedian Bill Maher clashed with actor John Leguizamo after he claimed on a Monday podcast that the U.S. has an abundance of space for more immigrants to live.
Former President Joe Biden presided over the highest level of net migration in the history of the U.S., soaring past numbers recovered during the late 1800s and early 1900s, according to The New York Times’ analysis of government data in December 2024. On “Club Random,” Maher argued President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda was a reaction to Biden’s disastrous policy of allowing so many illegal immigrants to enter the country, but Leguizamo did not seem to take issue with the influx.
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“Part of this is a backlash to how badly Biden handled the immigration situation,” Maher said. “It can’t just be like, ‘Come one, come all,’ which it was.”
“There’s plenty of room here,” Leguizamo responded.
Maher questioned what Leguizamo meant by “room.” Leguizamo doubled down.
“There’s plenty of room in America. Come on,” the actor said. “There’s no lack of room in America.”
“But it’s never about room,” Maher shot back. “It’s about resources and … countries have to have a border.”
The comedian asserted he had seen surveys reporting that around 200 million people throughout the planet would immigrate to America if they had the opportunity.
“Why wouldn’t they? Lots of countries, excuse me, are shitholes,” Maher said. “And they would love to be here.”
Leguizamo took issue with the term “shitholes,” which the two went back and forth about. The actor argued that immigrant labor is crucial to the U.S., which Maher agreed with.
“But what most Americans, I think sensible middle-of-the-road people, would say is, yes, of course, we are an immigrant-welcoming country, but there has to be some order to it,” the comedian said. “It just can’t be ‘Come one, come all.’”
Maher expressed support for Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ stance that his city could not handle the influx. As a sanctuary city, New York City dealt with a slew of issues after Texas started busing in illegal immigrants under Biden.
Adams told Daily Caller News Foundation co-founder Tucker Carlson during a January episode of “The Tucker Carlson Interview” that his city was struggling to provide resources for illegal immigrants.
“There [were] some that were coming here that were almost six months to a year, in some cases two years, without any work authorization,” Adams said. “Like what do you do with someone that cannot provide for themselves for that long period of time?”
The mayor asserted that the city was expected to “feed, house, clothe and educate” an estimated 40,000 migrant children, while also caring for migrant adults.
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