D.C. restaurateur José Andrés is stepping back from plans to open a flagship restaurant in Donald Trump's planned downtown hotel.
Andres issued a statement Wednesday citing Trump's negative comments about Mexican immigrants.
"Donald Trump's recent statements disparaging immigrants make it impossible for my company and I to move forward with opening a successful Spanish restaurant in Trump International's upcoming hotel in Washington, D.C.," Andrés said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
His statement continued: "More than half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests. And, as a proud Spanish immigrant and recently naturalized American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status."
Donald Trump Jr., Trump's son and a Trump Organization executive, issued a statement threatening legal action and noting that Andres has a 10-year lease.
Trump's hotel is currently under construction in the Old Post Office Pavilion downtown.
But the businessman and 2016 Republican presidential candidate has recently drawn ire after for negative comments he made while announcing his bid for president June 16.
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Trump said that some Mexican immigrants are "bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
In response, various organizations have been severing ties with Trump. Macy's ended their business relationship with him, and Univision and NBC dropped Trump's Miss USA pageant. A petition on Change.org asking Andrés to pull out of the planned Trump hotel collected more than 2,600 names.
Trump has stood by his comments, but has also said he believes he will win the Latino vote by creating jobs.
"Hillary Clinton is not going to be able to create jobs, I will tell you right now," he said. "Neither is Jeb Bush going to be able to create jobs. I will create jobs and the Latinos will have jobs that they don't have right now. And I will win that vote."
Trump said "there's nothing to apologize for" regarding his comments, which he made during an unscripted announcement speech last month. "I have a great relationship with the Mexican people," he said.
