Cranston
Mayor Fung called out for ‘Trumpian, divisive, racist, fear-based
campaigning’
In all, just over 50 people attended
the two hour protest. The protest continued inside the City Council chambers,
but Mayor Fung was not in attendance.
City Councilmember Steve Stycos (Democrat, Ward
1) attended the rally, but other members of the City Council avoided it. Stycos
is now running for a citywide council seat. Also attending was Gail Harvey, who is also running
for citywide council seat Lammis
Vargas, candidate for Cranston City Council Ward 1, and Jeff Gale candidate for
Cranston City Council Ward 1, all Democrats.
Fung, who is running as a Republican
for Governor of Rhode Island, told the Providence Journal that, “Unfortunately, under Governor [Gina] Raimondo, Rhode Island had the
highest murder rate in the region in 2016… When I’m Governor, we will not be
protecting criminals who are in this country illegally, period. We will not be
a sanctuary state, and I will fight against sanctuary cities like Providence.”
Fung also claimed to have signed an
agreement with United States
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
agreeing to turn over undocumented immigrants to federal law enforcement, “when
a criminal in custody is in this country illegally.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Fung's parents came to the United States in 1969 "in search of a better life," as Fung said in the obituary for his father Kwong-Wen Fung, who died last February at age 89. Would Fung be running for Governor today if Trump's anti-immigrant policies had been in effect in 1969? I think that's a fair question for Fung to answer. - Will Collette
“We, at Cranston Action Network (CAN), strongly condemn the
actions of Mayor Allan Fung in
aligning with the Trump administration, which has cruelly separated families,
placed children in cages, and unnecessarily traumatized immigrants, even those
seeking asylum from violence in their home countries. Mayor Fung’s willingness
to cooperate with a Federal government responsible for such atrocities in no
way reflects the compassionate, inclusive values of our community. We stand in
solidarity to urge our city council, statewide leaders, and statewide voters to
take every measure possible to oppose this stance. Mayor Fung does not reflect
the values of our community. These measures foster distrust towards our valiant
and highly respected police force and make our community less safe.”
- Let’s show that we stand with our immigrant neighbors.
- Let’s stand as an inclusive and welcoming community.
- Let’s allow the police to do their jobs fighting crime – not taking on ICE’s responsibilities.
- Let’s let community members feel safe in reporting crimes, and not fear being reported to ICE if they are victims of a crime.
- Let’s protect our immigrant women neighbors, in particular, if they need to report crimes of domestic violence.
- Let’s keep ICE out of healthcare institutions and keep ICE out of our schools.