Residents in Edison, New Jersey were sent racist Make Edison Great Again campaign mailers targeting Asians and Indians and urging the community to deport two Asian school board candidates.
“The Chinese and Indians are taking over our town!” the postcard reads. “Chinese school! Indian School! Cricket fields! Enough is Enough!,” the postcard proclaims.
Featured on the postcard mailed to Edison residents are pictures of two board of education candidates Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel with the word “deport” covering part of their pictures.
The racist postcard urges Edison residents to “stop” the two school board candidates from “taking over” the school.
The back of the card says such things as, “Stop the multiple families living in the same house!” and “Stop wasting school holidays!”
Edison residents receive Make Edison Great Again mailers
@MattFriedmanNJ have you seen this Edison mailer yet? pic.twitter.com/gU1FsU62WA
— charmi patel pena (@charmipena) November 2, 2017
According to NJ.com the postcards that residents received in the mail do not indicate what group is responsible for sending them, which is a violation of state law.
Falguni Patel, the 32-year-old immigration lawyer whose name and picture appear on the mailer was repulsed when she discovered her name and picture on the mailer.
“I’m obviously disgusted by it, to say the least,” Patel said to New Jersey 101.5.
“I was born and raised in New Jersey. To see the word ‘deport’ on my picture — where are you going to deport me to? Really it’s just outrageous,” she added.
The current mayor of Edison Tom Lankey and challenging candidate Keith Hahn denounce the racist mailer sent to Edison residents.
“Edison has proudly embraced our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity,” Mayor Tom Lankey said in a statement sent to New Jersey 101.5. “It has become a sad reality that in our polarized political atmosphere, some people suddenly feel empowered to publicly express these vile ideas. Make no mistake, we will do everything we can to expose the shameful people behind this.”
Republican candidate Keith Hahn released a statement to Facebook, calling the incident “disgraceful and offensive.”
Edison, New Jersey is located about 40 miles from Manhattan and has a total population of around 102,000 residents according to the U.S. Census. About 45 percent of the residents in the town are foreign born.
