Ben Carson tells HUD staff: Slaves are 'immigrants' who came here to 'pursue prosperity and happiness'

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Monday said that African-Americans slaves were "immigrants" who came to the U.S. with dreams of building a better future for their children.

In his first address to HUD employees, Carson warned that there would be “no favorites for anybody, no extra” services for any one group.

“One of the things you will notice in this department under my leadership is that there will be a very big emphasis on fairness for everybody,” President Donald Trump's HUD secretary said. “Everything that we do, every policy; no favorites for anybody, no extra for anybody, but complete fairness for everybody. Because that is what the founders of this nation had in mind, and if you read the constitution, it becomes very clear that that was the goal.”

At one point during the talk, Carson reflected on how America was a land of "dreams and opportunity."

"There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships who worked even longer, even harder for less," Carson noted. "But they too had a dream, that one day their sons, daughters, granddaughters, great-grandsons, great-granddaughters might pursue prosperity and happiness."

Watch the video below.