The president of a Washington, D.C.-based medical service provider that holds a government contract with the Trump administration says the company will no longer provide health care services at immigration detention facilities.
Aspen Medical USA posted job listings for positions in Roxbury, New Jersey at a “secure medical facility” that included nurses, X-ray technicians, radiologists and pharmacists. At least one of the positions said the job would require “providing quality medical care to patients within a transitional corrections setting.”
Earlier this week, the Trump administration closed a $129.3 million deal to buy a warehouse in Roxbury that it plans to turn into a detention center for people detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In an interview Friday, Aspen Medical President Ethan Bond said the company is not recruiting for any jobs in New Jersey and said the remaining job postings “should not exist.”
Aspen Medical has faced media scrutiny over similar postings in Merrimack, New Hampshire, where another ICE detention facility had been proposed. The company was among a group of firms recently awarded a U.S. Navy contract in connection with the Trump administration’s multibillion-dollar spending plan on immigration enforcement and detention.
All of the Roxbury postings have now either expired or been removed from sites like ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn. Asked why they were initially posted, Bond said his company “regularly invites expression of interest applications for a range of health care roles.”
“I can definitely tell you that Aspen Medical USA does not intend to be involved in the delivery of services to any proposed ICE facilities, either in NJ or elsewhere,” Bond said.
Bond told the Boston Globe last week that he had not decided whether to provide staffing at ICE detention facilities, calling it a “very touchy subject.” Now, he says he’s “100% decided” that Aspen Medical will stay out of the ICE detention center business.
In the days since Gothamist broke the news that the Department of Homeland Security bought the Roxbury property, local and state leaders on both sides of the aisle in New Jersey have repeatedly said they remain vehemently opposed to the Trump administration’s plans and intend to fight the detention center opening in North Jersey.
On Friday, Gov. Mikie Sherrill sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem saying that the state will use “every tool at our disposal” to stop it. The governor has yet to elaborate on exactly what tools and strategies it will use to fight the administration’s plans.
