They immigrated in the holds of slave ships, last time I checked. Implication being they immigrated unwillingly. Or do you think they were natives born here?
Suggestion: Interpret his comments in context. You might find some insight into the irony (which, as Oscar Wilde once so famously said, ‘is wasted on the stupid’) in which the comment was made.
Just like Jews immigrated to concentration camps.
Those comments are sarcastic. The video shows Obama referring to slaves as immigrants.
Clearly awful.
What's the problem?
Without stirring up too much of a storm, I could make the argument that a lot of Jews emigrated from Eastern Europe "unwillingly".
As an example, a relative of mine had a thriving tavern and a relatively stable and decent existence there until the 1930s, when some putz and his blind followers made life so difficult that he and his family came to America. Had it not been for the threat of enslavement or worse, I wonder if he would have willingly put his wife and 7 kids through the trials and tribulations of such a trip? In addition to the overland and boat trip in steerage, they spent a couple days in the "paupers area" of Ellis Island because they came here with little but the clothes on their back.