Former President Barack Obama’s recent remarks on the divisive impact of mass migration have reignited a national conversation about diversity and political unrest.
According to Breitbart, addressing a public meeting on Sept. 16, 2025, at the Jefferson Educational Society, Obama tackled the civic conflicts stemming from what he called an elite-driven "experiment" in mass migration, while defending multiculturalism and pointing to various factors contributing to the current political crisis.
During his presidency from 2009 to 2017, Obama championed policies that encouraged diversity and multiculturalism across the United States. He also appointed Alejandro Mayorkas to a key role in the Department of Homeland Security in 2009. Mayorkas later shaped pro-migration strategies under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025.
Obama’s vision was to create a society where individuals from all over the world could unite under shared democratic ideals. He often spoke of values like equality, constitutional rights, and democratic governance as the foundation for this vision. However, he acknowledged that such an approach was unprecedented on this scale.
“No nation, no society has ever tried to build a democracy as big and as diverse as ours before,” Obama stated during the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. He emphasized that the global community is observing whether the U.S. can succeed in this endeavor. “The rest of the world is watching to see if we can actually pull this off,” he added at the same event.
Obama admitted that bipartisan cooperation in Washington was smoother when the population appeared more uniform. “The point is, is that bipartisanship worked pretty well in Washington when everybody looked the same,” he said on Sept. 16, 2025. He noted that as diversity grew, collaboration became more challenging. “The country right now is going through sort of a political crisis of the sort that we haven’t seen before,” Obama declared during his recent speech. He linked this turmoil to various shifts, including economic changes and evolving demographics. Technology and media, especially social platforms, have also played a significant role in deepening divisions.
“What happened was, is that how we got information changed, and it was turbocharged by social media,” Obama explained on Sept. 16, 2025. He highlighted how differing perceptions of reality among citizens fuel political discord. “Suddenly, you have a big chunk of the country, who the reality they’re receiving every day is entirely different than the reality I’m receiving,” he added.
Obama pointed out that governmental inaction worsens the situation, citing mechanisms like the filibuster and gerrymandering. “It made it very difficult to move forward and get stuff done in a divided country,” he remarked during his address. He stressed that opposing views on truth and falsehood further hinder progress.
Turning to current events, Obama criticized certain practices in Washington, D.C., involving the National Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “In Washington, D.C. right now, you have National Guard folks deployed who are setting up checkpoints,” he said on Sept. 16, 2025. “They’re working with ICE, and you have ICE agents who are checking people’s IDs and stopping traffic,” he continued, noting this occurs outside emergency contexts.
Obama also raised concerns about ICE operations in Los Angeles, where agents reportedly target Latino individuals for ID checks. “Recently were engaging in practices that involved stopping people who are Latino and deciding, well, that justifies you being stopped,” he explained. He added that some agents wear masks and fail to identify themselves during these stops.
The Supreme Court has temporarily approved such practices, though without a formal written ruling. “You then have a Supreme Court that said that was okay, although they didn’t write a written opinion,” Obama noted on Sept. 16, 2025. He mentioned the use of the shadow docket for this interim decision.
In November 2024, a significant shift occurred as voters expressed opposition to Obama’s migration and diversity initiatives. They elected President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who campaigned on reversing these policies. This marked a clear departure from the path Obama had advocated during his tenure.
Despite the backlash, Obama urged respect for differing opinions during debates on migration and diversity. “[I] insist that in that process of debate, we respect other people’s right to say things that we profoundly disagree with,” he said on Sept. 16, 2025. He emphasized the importance of honest and direct discussions on contentious issues.
Obama also addressed his disagreement with conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, whose ideas he found misguided. “I didn’t know Charlie Kirk … I think [his] ideas were wrong,” he stated during the recent event. “I can disagree with some of [Kirk’s] broader suggestions that liberals and Democrats are promoting conspiracy to displace whites,” he added, advocating for open dialogue on such topics.