NBA veteran Tristan Thompson backs Trump, says immigration should be done 'the right way'

Tristan Thompson, the veteran NBA center who came to the United States from Canada on a student visa and became a citizen in 2020, told podcast host Katie Miller that he supports President Donald Trump's approach to immigration, and believes legal immigrants who follow the process deserve priority.

The comments, previewed ahead of the full episode of "The Katie Miller Podcast," place Thompson among a small but growing number of professional athletes willing to speak favorably about the current administration. In a sports culture where public alignment with Trump remains rare, Thompson did not hedge.

Fox News Digital reported that Thompson praised the president directly in the interview, then offered a measured take on the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, one rooted in his own experience navigating the legal system.

Thompson's own words

Thompson did not leave room for ambiguity about where he stands on the president's record. As he told Miller:

"What President Trump is doing, first of all, I love what he's done so far for our country. I think he's helped our country a lot."

On the specific question of immigration enforcement, Thompson drew a clear line. He said immigrants who follow the legal process should come first, a position grounded in his own family's experience.

"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."

That is not a talking point drafted by a publicist. It is a man who went through the system himself, speaking from that experience.

Thompson also acknowledged that enforcement decisions should account for individual circumstances. He told Miller he understands where the president is coming from but believes some cases warrant individual review.

"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."

From student visa to U.S. citizen

Born in Canada, Thompson entered the country on a student visa before his NBA career launched. He became a U.S. citizen in 2020, during the first Trump administration, ahead of joining the Boston Celtics. The timeline matters: Thompson went through the legal immigration process while millions of others were doing the same, waiting their turn.

At the time of his naturalization, Thompson released a statement through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that captured the straightforward pride of someone who earned his place.

"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 noted in the podcast interview that his citizenship process moved faster than expected, which he attributed to pandemic-era conditions rather than any special treatment tied to his NBA status. "I think it was just because of the pandemic, so they were just quick with it," he said.

That detail is worth pausing on. Thompson went out of his way to deny that celebrity opened any doors for him. He wanted it understood that he followed the same path available to anyone willing to do it legally.

The New York Post reported Thompson's comments as well, noting the NBA veteran described his immigration views as carrying genuine nuance, supporting the president's broader direction while maintaining that individual cases deserve individual consideration.

A rare voice in professional sports

Professional athletes who publicly back a Republican president remain the exception, not the rule. League culture, media incentives, and endorsement calculations all push players toward silence or toward progressive positions. Thompson's willingness to say plainly that he loves what Trump has done stands out precisely because so few of his peers will say anything similar on the record.

Thompson is not the only public figure to break with the expected script. FEC records showed TLC's Chilli contributed to Trump and GOP committees in 2024, a reminder that support for the president extends well beyond the usual political donor class.

The Cleveland Cavaliers veteran center, currently a free agent after most recently playing with Cleveland, did not frame his comments as a political endorsement in the traditional sense. He spoke as a legal immigrant who did the work, filled out the paperwork, waited his turn, and believes others should do the same before expecting the system to accommodate them.

That position is not controversial among most Americans. Polls have consistently shown broad public support for legal immigration paired with enforcement against those who skip the line. What makes Thompson's comments notable is that he said them publicly, in a media environment where athletes face enormous pressure to stay quiet or lean left.

The full episode of Miller's interview with Thompson is set to drop Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Rumble, and X. Fox News Digital reported it reached out to the White House for comment on Thompson's remarks.

Celebrity crossover into political territory has become increasingly common on both sides. Halle Berry publicly broke with California Governor Gavin Newsom after he vetoed legislation she championed, showing that frustration with political leaders cuts across party lines when officials fail to deliver.

The substance behind the stance

Thompson's argument is simple and hard to refute on its merits. People who follow the legal process, who get their visas, file their paperwork, wait in line, and earn their citizenship, should not be treated the same as those who bypass the system entirely. Prioritizing lawful immigrants is not a radical position. It is the baseline expectation of any functioning immigration system.

The fact that Thompson can speak from personal experience gives his words weight that a politician's talking points cannot match. He was the student visa holder. He was the applicant. He did it the right way, and he wants others to have the same opportunity, through the same front door.

Political endorsements from public figures carry different weight depending on context. Trump's own endorsement activity in congressional races has shown how much the president values public loyalty, making Thompson's unsolicited praise all the more striking.

Thompson's willingness to say "I love what he's done" about a sitting Republican president, without qualification or apology, is the kind of candor that professional sports rarely produces. Whether the full podcast episode adds further detail remains to be seen. The preview alone says plenty.

When a man who earned his citizenship the hard way says the system should reward people who play by the rules, the only people who object are the ones who never believed in rules to begin with.