“He thinks shouting makes him right” – Bill Maher CLASHES with John Leguizamo in explosive showdown over IMMIGRATION that ends with WALK-OFF moment and a chilling line that left the studio stunned

Tensions boiled over when Bill Maher and actor John Leguizamo squared off in a fiery exchange that derailed an entire segment. What began as a heated debate on immigration quickly spiraled into a shouting match, with Leguizamo accusing Maher of “using fear as a punchline” and Maher firing back with a line so cutting it left the room frozen. As producers scrambled to cut to commercial, whispers swirled—was this just a disagreement, or the latest sign of a deeper fracture in public discourse?

Watch what really happened when the cameras kept rolling—full video and fallout inside.

Actor John Leguizamo told Bill Maher that America should take on more migrants because ‘there’s plenty of room here’.

The liberal’s assertion came during a fiery episode of Maher’s Club Random podcast that laid bare the political fault lines between the two liberal voices.

‘There’s plenty of room in America, come on. There’s no lack of room in America,’ Leguizamo insisted, as Maher pushed back.

‘It can’t just be like, “come one, come all,” Maher countered. ‘It’s never about room. It’s about resources… Countries have to have a border.’

The episode, which dropped on Monday saw the two clashing not just over immigration policy but race, identity, and even past personal encounters with Donald Trump himself.

Maher, 69, a longtime liberal comedian known for skewering both the left and right, accused the Biden administration of mishandling the border crisis, prompting Leguizamo, 64, to launch into a passionate defense of immigrants and a scorching attack on what he sees as systemic racism in US history.

‘We’ve been here since the beginning,’ Leguizamo declared, referring to Latino communities in the United States.

‘The first European language spoken in America was not English – it was Spanish. But we haven’t moved up. We’ve stayed in the same place because this is the fourth mass deportation of Latinos since 1830.’

Progressive actor John Leguizamo told Bill Maher that America should take in more migrants because 'there's plenty of room here'
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Progressive actor John Leguizamo told Bill Maher that America should take in more migrants because ‘there’s plenty of room here’

Maher disagreed - 'It can't just be like, "Come one, come all," It's never about room. It's about resources… Countries have to have a border,' he said
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Maher disagreed – ‘It can’t just be like, “Come one, come all,” It’s never about room. It’s about resources… Countries have to have a border,’ he said

He launched into a historical recounting of Latino persecution: ‘After Mexico became America and they invaded and took from Mississippi to the Pacific, they started lynching people, stealing their land, stealing their political wealth. In the 1930s, with the Repatriation Act, two million Latinos – most of them American citizens – were deported.’

Maher, who has been critical of both Trump and Biden’s immigration policies looked at the modern day issue.

‘Part of this is a backlash to how badly Biden handled the immigration situation… You can’t just open the gates.

‘Something like 200 million people around the world, when asked, “Would you come to America if you could?” – “Yes, I would.” Why wouldn’t they? Lots of countries, excuse me, are s***tholes, and they would love to be here.’

Leguizamo was quick to push back: ‘The places aren’t s***holes.’

‘Well, they are,’ Maher replied. ‘That’s why they want to come.’

‘It’s usually because of America,’ Leguizamo shot back.

‘What America’s done, especially in Latin America, is beat up every democracy that was burgeoning. They destroyed it to keep their oil or their resources or bananas.’

People hold Mexican flags and gesture next to a car in flames following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles County
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People hold Mexican flags and gesture next to a car in flames following multiple detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles County

Leguizamo suggested Trump was a racist but Maher disagreed describing him as a 'a product of his time'
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Leguizamo suggested Trump was a racist but Maher disagreed describing him as a ‘a product of his time’

The sharp exchange spiraled into more personal territory when Leguizamo recounted a past encounter with Trump, long before the real estate mogul entered politics.

‘I met him a time I was giving an award at Trump Tower,’ the actor recalled. ‘He came up to me and goes, “Oh, you’re so articulate.”‘

Leguizamo said he interpreted that comment as a racist slight: ‘White people always tell you that if you’re a Latin person and you can speak, that you’re so articulate -which I know is code for “I thought you were all dumb.”

Maher acknowledged the offense, calling the remark ‘just obnoxious,’ but rejected the notion that Trump himself was a racist: ‘He’s not a racist. He’s a product of his time.’

Leguizamo pushed back again: ‘Some of us overcome our times.’

‘That is true and fair to say,’ Maher agreed.

The exchange grew even more heated when the two addressed Trump’s adviser, Stephen Miller, widely regarded as the architect of the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies.

‘He’s not on the level of racism that Stephen Miller is,’ Leguizamo said. ‘Nobody is at the level of Stephen Miller’s racism. He grew up in Santa Monica with Latinos and I guess they bullied him – and he’s got a chip on his shoulder.’

Throughout the conversation, Maher tried to temper Leguizamo’s moral urgency by citing how border towns and liberal cities were overwhelmed buckling under migrant inflows.

 

The exchange grew heated as the two addressed Trump's White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, widely regarded as the architect of the administration's hardline immigration policies
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The exchange grew heated as the two addressed Trump’s White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, widely regarded as the architect of the administration’s hardline immigration policies

 

Leguizamo, who hosts MSNBC's Leguizamo Does America, argued that immigrants were not a burden but the backbone of the country. Pictured, demonstrators hold signs and flags in front of the National Guard last month in protest to federal immigration operations
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Leguizamo, who hosts MSNBC’s Leguizamo Does America, argued that immigrants were not a burden but the backbone of the country. Pictured, demonstrators hold signs and flags in front of the National Guard last month in protest to federal immigration operations

 

Federal immigration officials are pictured carrying out raids on two southern California cannabis farms clashed with protesters in Camarillo, California last week
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Federal immigration officials are pictured carrying out raids on two southern California cannabis farms clashed with protesters in Camarillo, California last week

‘Even the governor of New York was like, “We can’t take all these people,” Maher said. ‘Mayor Adams was like – and he’s right – it’s like, you know, these people live here and now this is their burden.’

Leguizamo, who hosts MSNBC’s Leguizamo Does America, argued that immigrants were not a burden but the backbone of the country.

‘The immigrants that are coming here are building the country,’ he said.

‘They’re the essential workers. They’re the first responders. They’re doing all your construction, painting, plumbing, raising all your food, cooking all your food, serving all your food, taking care of your kids. We do all the work that nobody wants to do.’

Maher responded, ‘Yes, they are. Absolutely. But… there has to be some order to it.’

Leguizamo seemed unmoved by the call for moderation.

 

John Leguizamo, 64, has emerged as one of the most influential voices in the defense of immigrant rights in the US vocally denouncing anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies as dehumanizing to Latino communities
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John Leguizamo, 64, has emerged as one of the most influential voices in the defense of immigrant rights in the US vocally denouncing anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies as dehumanizing to Latino communities

‘Let’s fix the legal immigration,’ he demanded. ‘It’s a broken system. People who’ve been here for 30 years can’t be naturalized. That’s insane.’

In a rare moment of agreement, Maher conceded the legal system is failing many long-time immigrants. ‘Fix the quotas,’ he said. ‘Fix the blockage.’

The conversation went back and forth between barbed humor and some tense disagreements, with Maher even joking about the kinds of countries where ‘you can take a chicken on a bus’ being what he called ‘s***hole countries.’

He clarified: ‘It doesn’t mean you’re a s***hole person. You have the misfortune of being born there.’

Leguizamo, while acknowledging the hardships, insisted that the answer was not shutting the door, but swinging it open.

‘Immigrants are the life source of this country,’ he said.