US councilman apologises for blaming Bangladeshi immigrants for city's trash problems

A councilman from a diverse Michigan enclave has apologised for his controversial comments about Bangladeshi and Yemeni immigrants last month. Hamtramck is the first majority Muslim city council in the US. Four of the seven council members are Bangladeshi or Yemeni Americans. Councilman Ian Perrotta had blamed the city's trash problem on immigrants, and singled out people from Bangladesh and Yemen during a radio interview on September 11, reports Detroit Free Press. Later In late September, he apologised at a council meeting for his remarks, saying he did not mean to disparage any group. In the radio interview, he said he believed part of the problem with the city's trash issue had to do with immigrants who come from countries where sanitation programme was either not available or was not a priority.Many of the city's 44% immigrant population are from Yemen or Bangladesh. Following Perrotta's remarks, the council considered bringing a resolution, calling for him to be publicly censured for his remarks, but it was later dropped. Councilman Anam Miah, who brought the resolution, said Perrotta's remarks were “pretty shocking”. The Michigan chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations criticised Perrotta's “bigoted rhetoric”. The incident comes during a heated election campaign. Councilman Mohammed Hassan, an immigrant from Bangladesh, is challenging incumbent Mayor Karen Majewski of Polish descent in November. Hassan will become Hamtramck's first Muslim mayor if he wins.