Brown Hospital Security VP Faces Calls for Firing Over Border Patrol Past
“We cannot trust a former immigration enforcement official to protect Rhode Island’s hospitals and ensure that immigrant patients can access care without fear.”
This is classic cancel culture. This person did nothing wrong.
The College Fix reports:
Petition against Brown University Health wants new security VP fired – because he once led U.S. Border Patrol
A petition that’s garnered roughly 600 signatures from Brown University Health “community members” is calling for the dismissal of the new university hospital security vice president — because he once led the U.S. Border Patrol.
According to The Brown Daily Herald, Jason Owens worked for the Border Patrol for almost 30 years, and was named chief in 2023. He retired last year, and started at Brown University Health this summer.
His employment at Brown University Health did not sit well with the Rhode Island chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which noted in an Instagram post that “eight Brown and [state] organizations have joined the call” for Owens’ firing from BUH.
“It is disgusting that after nearly two years of a mass movement against immigration enforcement here in Rhode Island, Brown University Health would hire someone who has led a system of intimidation and violence against immigrants,” the post says.
Brown Rise Up “coordinator” Raya Gupta said that “No one who I’ve spoken to about this thinks it’s okay to have former Border Patrol running anything in hospitals.”
The PSL’s Kenneth Kalu told the Herald that Owen’s hiring is “shameful and unacceptable.”
“Hiring an official who led a system of migrant intimidation, repression and detention to run the hospital system is an implicit threat to immigrant patients,” Kalu said. “We cannot trust a former immigration enforcement official to protect Rhode Island’s hospitals and ensure that immigrant patients can access care without fear.”
Brown graduate Christopher Botelho (pictured), a now-former BUH employee who uses “he/she/they” pronouns, said he/she/they ultimately decided to resign his/her/their position as a data coordinator after responding to Chief of Hospital Operations Sarah Frost’s email announcement of Owens’ hiring.
Botelho said Owens’ position “might even further discourage individuals seeking care” at the BUH: “Undocumented folks are considering: ‘Do I go to the hospital? Do I get taken care of?’”
Botelho (the first signatory of the petition) is featured in this PSL video denouncing Owens.
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Comments
The target was hired for his successful management of a large law enforcement agency.
Brown hired him because it had confidence that the target could do the job protecting Brown.
The left loonies want to blacklist everyone that disagrees with them.
No, they want to kill anyone who disagrees with them. See: Charlie Kirk.
That’s their decision. It depends how sick they are. If their problem is mild enough that the risk of being reported to the authorities is enough to deter them from seeking treatment, then it’s probably mild enough that I’m OK with them not being treated. Or going instead to a professional they trust, who might charge more.
It’s the law.
If you don’t like it, change it.