City Councilman Rod Tam apologized yesterday for comments he made during a committee meeting last month in which he referred to undocumented laborers as "wetbacks."

During discussion of a bill to rezone land for the proposed University of Hawai'i-West O'ahu campus, Tam said he had received complaints from contractors and community members about the use of illegal workers.

"Basically, they gotta be skilled, licensed workers. We don't want any wetbacks," Tam said during the May 13 zoning committee meeting. "Basically we've been getting contractors who get wetbacks from Mexico."

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines "wetback" as a "usually offensive" slang term referring to Mexicans who have entered the country illegally.

The word is a noun that dates to 1929 and references "the practice of wading or swimming the Rio Grande where it forms the U.S.-Mexico border," according to Merriam-Webster.

Tam said in a news release that his use of the term "was in reference to the use of undocumented workers by some developers and construction companies here in Honolulu who purposefully decide to skirt our laws in order to gain an economic benefit."

"Not being from the Mainland where use of this term would be considered very derogatory, I have always naively thought it was just a slang term used to describe illegal workers," Tam said in the news release. "Having been subsequently informed of its derogatory nature, I wish to apologize to any and all individuals who were offended by my use of the term and offer my sincere promise to refrain from its use in the future."

Tam said he has nothing against undocumented laborers but does not like those who "would use them for economic and personal gain."

Councilman Gary H. Okino, who sits on the committee with Tam and was at the May 13 hearing, said he did not think that Tam meant to disparage any ethnic groups by using the word.

"I'm pretty sure people thought it was inappropriate but I don't think his intention was to be derogatory in any way. I'm sure he wouldn't do it for any hateful purposes," Okino said. "I think it was just ignorance and he wasn't aware of the meaning."

Councilman Donovan M. Dela Cruz, who also was at the meeting, said Tam clearly recognized it was the wrong choice of words.

"I'm sure the more than 100,000 residents of Latin descent throughout the state appreciate his apology," Dela Cruz said. "There are some ethnic groups who may want to meet with Councilmember Tam face to face to express their concern and discuss possible remedies."