San Francisco Mayor Breed apologizes for comment criticized as anti-immigrant

SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed has issued a statement apologizing for comments she made during a recent interview that some in the Latino community have called anti-immigrant.

The apology issued by the mayor stemmed from comments she made during an Oct. 5 live interview for KQED, where she said that there were many drug dealers coming from the Central American country of Honduras and dismissed accusations by the San Francisco Public Defender's office that police were racially profiling Hondurans in their Tenderloin drug enforcement. 

"There are unfortunately a lot of people who come from a particular country, who come from Honduras, and a lot of people who are dealing drugs happen to be of that ethnicity, and when a lot of the arrests have been made for people breaking the law, you have the public defender's office and staff from the public defender's office who are basically accusing and using the law to say you're racial profiling," Breed said. "And it's nothing racial profile about this - we all know it, it's the reality, it's what you see, it's what's out there."

The mayor's press office shared her statement regarding the comments Thursday afternoon.

"Over the last few days, I have had conversations with several leaders from our Latino community about comments I made during a recent conversation about drug dealing in the Tenderloin," Breed's statement read. "I want to apologize to the Latino community for what I said and how I said it. In trying to explain what is happening in the Tenderloin, I failed to accurately and comprehensively discuss what is an incredibly complex situation in our City and in Central America."  

The statement went on to talk about how the city was facing challenges with drug use and sales in the Tenderloin disrupting the lives of families who live there, noting San Francisco was a sanctuary city with "an obligation to provide a safe space for our immigrant families to live and thrive." She also said that obligation included a commitment to "ending open-air drug markets and hold drug dealers, regardless of ethnicity, accountable."  

In the statement, Mayor Breed said the city compounded the problem by not prosecuting drug dealers, a reference to former San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin's policies. Breed appointed one of the figureheads of the successful campaign to recall Boudin -- former DA's office staff attorney Brooke Jenkins -- as the interim DA.

Breed went on to say that the city needs to end the Tenderloin's open-air drug market that "encourages criminal gangs from other countries to coerce young men to come sell drugs in our streets." She additionally noted that the city is "helping CARECEN in opening a service center for Central American refugees across from UN Plaza." 

The full statement attributed to Mayor Breed can be read below:

Over the last few days, I have had conversations with several leaders from our Latino community about comments I made during a recent conversation about drug dealing in the Tenderloin. I want to apologize to the Latino community for what I said and how I said it. In trying to explain what is happening in the Tenderloin, I failed to accurately and comprehensively discuss what is an incredibly complex situation in our City and in Central America.  

We do have significant challenges with drug dealing in the Tenderloin, and those challenges are impacting families that live there, including immigrant Latino families and residents who are living in fear. As a proud Sanctuary City, we have an obligation to provide a safe space for our immigrant families to live and thrive. That includes ending open-air drug markets and hold drug dealers, regardless of ethnicity, accountable.  

We have helped to create and grow our own problem in the last couple of years through the City's inability to effectively prosecute the crime of drug dealing in our City. As Mayor, I have a moral obligation to stop the open-air drug dealing that terrorizes our families and also encourages criminal gangs from other countries to coerce young men to come sell drugs in our streets. I am working with the District Attorney and our Police Department to do just that. I believe there needs to be accountability for those selling drugs on our streets, which includes people of all races, ethnicities, and genders. But we are also a City that believes in second chances and giving people opportunities, which is why we are helping CARECEN in opening a service center for Central American refugees across from UN Plaza.  

As I said, these are complex problems, and I want to again thank those from the Latino community who have reached out to discuss this issue with me. We are stronger when we listen to each other and work together to move this City forward.  

In:
• Immigration
• Drug Bust
• Crime
• San Francisco