British actor Will Poulter sparks unexpected backlash over comments about immigration in US

Will Poulter has sparked an unexpected divide online after making comments about immigration in America.

The 32-year-old British actor spoke to Variety at the Sundance Film Festival premiere of his new movie Union County, which also stars Noah Centineo, Elise Kibler, Emily Meade, and Annette Deao.

Talking about the current political climate in the US amid President Donald Trump's ongoing immigration policies and controversial ICE raids, the Maze Runner star said it's 'really upsetting' to see people 'forget that we're a country that we have immigrants to thank for'.

Poulter said: "And I feel the same way about my home country in the UK. As an actor I don't want to conflate my influence or what I'm able to do in order to affect change, but certainly I try to look at how I can draw attention to certain things in society to try and raise awareness or to try and motivate change and activate people."

He reasoned: "But, you know, I also remain conscious of the fact that I'm an actor and not an activist."

Will Poulter's comments on US immigration have sparked a debate (Variety/Getty Images)

Poulter recognised the work that actual activists are doing, adding that he's in the 'business of trying to draw attention to it."

The comments have quickly gone viral on social media and sparked quite the debate, with some Republicans weighing in on the star and other Americans insisting that because he's British, he shouldn't get a say in American politics.

One Twitter user penned: "It is so exhausting to listen to these out of people lecturing about things they have no idea about."

While a second and third added: "Once again a foreigner telling Americans what to think" and "Oh well now that Will Poulter has weighed in, well I think it’s so over for MAGA now!"

A fourth chimed in with: "This statement really highlights everything we despise about leftists."

While a fifth asked: "Is he from UK???" and a sixth sarcastically wrote "Yeah, we were all waiting on pins and needles for Will Poulter’s take on the situation."

Meanwhile, others think celebrities shouldn't be weighing in at all, with one person writing: "Nobody gives a flying f*** what celebrities think it’s just not the same for them and they have privileges that many others don’t."

Immigration is a divisive topic in America right now, amid Trump's ongoing ICE raids (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

"Oh Will not you too, people need to start declining political interviews," added someone else.

While another social media user wrote: "Out of touch millionaire who doesn’t live in reality tries to tell people who are forced to face reality every day how to think."

As we say though, not everyone is on the same page and others have taken to Twitter to defend the star, penning: "Thank you, Will Poulter!" and: "I really like how he worded this. Speaks to the 'use your platform to speak out' crowd vs the 'you’re an actor, shut up and act' crowd."

Someone else agreed: "Really appreciate him using his platform to highlight important issues, even while staying true to being an actor. It’s refreshing to see actors speak out on societal issues without pretending to be full-time activists."

Meanwhile, another fan penned: "Hard to argue with that. It’s a reminder people don’t like hearing, but it’s true. both the US and the UK were built by immigrants, full stop."

Tyla has contacted a representative for Poulter for comment.