The mayor of one Southern California town with a controversial plan to eliminate his city’s homeless population is doubling down on his calls for strong-arm tactics despite facing a petition to remove him from office.

Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris’ is standing by his comments to give the homeless “all the fentanyl they want,” and says he doesn’t have any regrets for remarks he made during a February 25 city council meeting.

“They are responsible for most of our robberies, most of our rapes, and at least half of our murders. There’s nothing that we can do for these people,” he told Fox 11 Los Angeles.

The controversy around the mayor arose when a local resident asked him what he intended to do about a growing homeless encampment that had sprouted up on an abandoned golf course near a residential neighborhood.

“What I want to do is give them free fentanyl. That’s what I want to do,” he said. “I want to give them all the fentanyl they want.”

Aghast by the proposal, the resident responded by saying that his approach “was not kind.”

In response, a group called Recall Rex led by former political opponents of the mayor launched a recall petition urging his removal.

“For too long, Mayor R. Rex Parris has prioritized personal gain over the well-being of residents. His administration has been marked by mismanagement, controversial policies, and a disregard for transparency,” reads a statement from the group.

“Lancaster deserves leadership that listens, serves, and uplifts the community – not one that divides and exploits it.”

Though Recall Rex wants to take down Mr. Parris, the city’s administrator sued the group last week, filing a list of complaints about the petition, including its failure to follow election law for filing a recall petition, excluding a response from the mayor, and issuing false claims about the mayor’s decision to increase terms and raise waste management fees without approval.

Despite the effort to remove him, Mr. Parris said he has no regrets for his remarks, which he claims has raised attention to the crisis.

“I made it very clear I was talking about the criminal element that were let out of the prisons that have now become 40 to 45 percent of what’s referred to as the homeless population,” he said. “It’s an untenable situation, and I’m open to any solution … I want these people out of our city.”

He added that he supports a homeless “purge” by federal officials.

“Quite frankly, I wish that the president would give us a purge. Because we do need to purge these people,” he said. “Now, is it harsh? Of course, it is harsh. But it’s my obligation as the mayor of the city of Lancaster to protect the hardworking families that live there, and I am no longer able to do it.