She stated that she herself approached the commission with a request to evaluate Ratnieks' publication on the social network X (formerly Twitter), in which he referred to immigrants as 'monkeys'. First, the commission will decide whether to accept Paeglkalna's statement for consideration. According to Paeglkalna, politicians have the right to publicly express their views on migration issues, including making harsh statements and calling for the deportation of immigrants. However, in her opinion, it is unacceptable to label representatives of any ethnic group as 'monkeys' based on unverified information, attributing animal traits to people. Such a statement cannot be considered a manifestation of respectful attitude. She believes that such statements by politicians contribute to the spread of stereotypes in society and amplify fears. 'If a person has committed a criminal offense, they must be punished regardless of their nationality or race. If a person has violated immigration rules, they can be detained and deported from the country,' emphasized Paeglkalna. For his part, Ratnieks told the LETA agency that in recent days he has received widespread support from the residents of Riga regarding his comment on the social network X. 'I will not retract my words. How else can you call men who try to attack women? How can you describe a crowd that pounces on a person defending a woman?' said Ratnieks. In his opinion, the call for the ethics commission of the Riga City Council deputies only demonstrates political priorities. Instead of discussing how to prevent such individuals from appearing in Riga and how to strengthen public safety, the authorities are staging a demonstrative 'judicial reprisal' over one emotional comment on social media, believes the vice-mayor. He emphasized that such pressure will not make him abandon his work on immigration issues, but will only strengthen his convictions.