Jeanne Umana, a UC Santa Barbara law professor, was videotaped on Saturday by a Latino man, Luis Cervantes, after she entered a house he was doing construction work on and called him a "Tijuanan" while declaring her "American" identity.
In the video, Cervantes can be heard telling Umana that she is on private property.
"I work for the police," says Umana.
"You don't have permission to come on private property," says Cervantes.
"Oh, arrest me," Umana says as she walks out of the house.
"OK, I can call the cops," Cervantes says.
Umana tells Cervantes, "I live here. I'm American, you're a Tijuanan," Umana says.
"Thank you for being racist, thank you," Cervantes says.
"I am very, very much against people who break our laws," she says, reaching out to grab Cervantes' phone.
On Sunday evening, a crowd of a few hundred people gathered in front Umana's home to protest, chanting "Jeanne Umana, move out!"
The Los Angeles Times interviewed Umana on Monday:
Umana apologized repeatedly for what she called her "inappropriate remarks." She said the incident began when she noticed a construction truck speeding down her residential street and parked illegally in the middle of the road. She said she approached the property where Cervantes worked to report the incident to a manager — not realizing it was an active construction site.
"And then when someone put the camera in my face, I think that's when I lost my judgment. My judgment went very, very badly," Umana said. "I am truly sorry that this got out of hand, and I regret making statements like that, because I said them in the heat of the moment. They were not measured, and whatever I might feel, I don't have the right to take it out on anybody else. But unfortunately, I lost control."
