Indian American Falguni Patel selected to New Jersey’s Edison Board of Education

The word “DEPORT” was stamped on the photos of the two Asian American candidates.

Indian American immigration lawyer Falguni Patel has won a seat on New Jersey’s Edison Board of Education along with Chinese American candidate, Jerry Shi. According to tapinto.net, Patel received 4,979 votes in the election.

Earlier this month, Patel and Shi were targeted by some unknown people for contesting for the school board election. Many people received anonymous mailer calling for the deportation of two Asian American candidates running for the school board.

Racist Email Campaign

The mailer, titled “Make Edison Great Again,” asked voters to “stop” Indian American Falguni Patel and Chinese American Jerry Shi from “taking over our School Board.”

The word “DEPORT” was stamped on the photos of the two Asian American candidates.

It said:  “The Chinese and Indians are taking over our town! Chinese school! Indian school! Cricket fields! Enough is Enough!!”

The back of the mailer said, “Let’s take back our Edison.”

“Make Edison Great Again” is a play on President Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.”

The racial mailers have sent shocking waves among the residents of the Edison Township in Middlesex County, which is home to one of the largest Indian American communities in the United States. According to the US Census Bureau’s 2015 data, Indian American constitute 33 percent of the total population in Edison.

Edison Indian Americans

Indian Americans are the largest minority group in Edison. There are nearly 34,000 Indian Americans living in the township. In comparison, Caucasians are roughly 41 percent of the population.

Patel had said that she didn’t expect anything like that and was disgusted by the mail.