--- ---  # Ben Carson Called African-American Slaves 'Immigrants' During a Speech  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 6, 2017 10:32 PM UTC  Ben Carson, then a Republican candidate for President, speaks during a news conference before a campaign event at Colorado Christian University on October 29, 2015 in Lakewood, Colorado. Ben Carson, then a Republican candidate for President, speaks during a news conference before a campaign event at Colorado Christian University on October 29, 2015 in Lakewood, Colorado.Justin Sullivan—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Mar 6, 2017 10:32 PM UTC [New Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson](http://time.com/4531329/ben-carson-donald-trump-accusers-lying/) is facing backlash after referring to African-American slaves as [immigrants](http://time.com/4679987/donald-trump-immigrants-deportation/) in his first address to the agency’s staff. “There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less,” Carson said during his remarks, according to the [Washington](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/06/carson-compares-slaves-to-immigrants-coming-to-a-land-of-dreams-and-opportunity/?utm%5Fterm=.75157e55964c)[ _Post._ ](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/03/06/carson-compares-slaves-to-immigrants-coming-to-a-land-of-dreams-and-opportunity/?utm%5Fterm=.75157e55964c)_“_But they, too, had a dream that one day their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons, great granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness in this land.” Carson immediately drew condemnation on social media from several prominent figures and organizations, including the NAACP. > [](https://twitter.com/NAACP/status/838855410253709314) As of late afternoon, Carson’s name was at the top of Twitter’s trending chart. Carson ran against Trump in the 2016 Republican presidential primary before dropping out in March 2016\. Shortly after, he endorsed his formal rival, and became a campaign surrogate. Ben Carson Called African-American Slaves 'Immigrants' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4692812/ben-carson-slaves-immigrants/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4692812/ben-carson-slaves-immigrants/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Called African-American Slaves 'Immigrants' During a Speech","datePublished":"2017-03-06T22:32:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:41:45.335Z","description":"Drawing immediate backlash","url":"https://time.com/4692812/ben-carson-slaves-immigrants/","keywords":["Race","White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bec31aa216c220f/6988bd3cbc6cfca7373e0689/ben-carson-hud-slaves-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4bec31aa216c220f/6988bd3cbc6cfca7373e0689/ben-carson-hud-slaves-immigrants.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Then-presidential candidate Ben Carsoning campaigning during the 2016 primary season,","caption":"Then-presidential candidate Ben Carsoning campaigning during the 2016 primary season,","creditText":"Justin Sullivan—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/race/","name":"Race"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4692812/ben-carson-slaves-immigrants/","name":"Ben Carson Called African-American Slaves 'Immigrants' During a Speech"}}]}] ```