A post shared on social media purportedly shows that former Secretary of State Colin Powell said people should stop complaining about “lazy immigrants” because white people enslaved others to do the work they didn’t want to.

Post by @beingliberal

View on Threads

Verdict: False

There is no evidence Powell said this.

Fact Check:

Cambria County polling locations in Pennsylvania suffered software issues which prompted commissioners to file to keep polls open until 10 pm, Fox 43 reported. The issue prevented voters from scanning ballots, while the issue is being dealt with, voters are using paper ballots, according to the outlet.

A post shared on Threads purports Powell suggested people should stop calling immigrants lazy because of slavery. The post shared a photo of Powell above the alleged quote.

“I don’t want to hear about ‘lazy immigrants’ from a race of people who enslaved a whole other race of people to do all the work they didn’t want to do,” the alleged quote.

The claim is inaccurate. Old iterations of this quote do not include Powell’s name. The State Department does not have this statement on record.

Powell did discuss immigration in 2014, saying this country is an “immigrant nation” and we are fueled by immigration, according to Politico. He said, “We are fueled with every new wave of immigrants who comes to this country.” (RELATED: Video Claims To Show Haitians Are Voting In Georgia)

Powell was criticized for not speaking more about racial issues while he was in a position of power in the U.S. government, The Independent reported. New York-based writer and rights activist Kevin Powell said, “I think that’s why a lot of Black folks never saw him as a leader. There was never a sense that Colin Powell was one of us.”

This is not the first time misinformation has circulated online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim former President Donald Trump made a “rally cry” to the UK.