February 23rd 2025.
Recently, The Texas Observer reported that James Rodden, an assistant chief counsel with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been accused of being a Nazi working within the agency. This legal complaint, filed by attorney J. Whitfield Larrabee, calls for an investigation and the suspension of Rodden's law license. The complaint was submitted to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Washington, D.C. and the Office of Professional Responsibility for ICE. It states that Rodden's alleged bigotry, racism, and hatred of immigrants hinders the administration of justice and undermines the integrity of the legal system.
The complaint also references an article written by investigative reporter Steven Monacelli, in which he claims to have gathered evidence that links Rodden to the Twitter account "GlomarResponder." Monacelli states that he used biographical details from publicly available documents, social media activity, and courtroom observations to determine that Rodden is the owner of the account. According to Monacelli, the "GlomarResponder" account regularly shared racist and anti-immigrant content and indicated that the owner was an employee of ICE. Some of the posts referenced in the complaint include one from January 2025 that reads, "America is a White nation, founded by Whites" and one from September 2024 that states, "all blacks are foreign to my people."
Last week, Monacelli publicly identified Rodden as the operator of the "GlomarResponder" account in a tweet. The tweet also includes a post from the account in August 2024 that states, "‘Migrants’ are all criminals." In March 2024, the account also posted, "Nobody is proposing feeding migrants into tree shredders. Yet. Give it a few more weeks at this level of invasion, and that will be the moderate position."
Monacelli's reporting on Rodden has been verified by The Texas Observer, and when asked about the allegations, ICE declined to confirm whether or not Rodden is still employed with the agency. They stated that they take all allegations of inappropriate conduct seriously and hold their employees to the highest standards of professionalism.
Rodden himself has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the outlet. When asked about the requests, he instructed reporters to contact the press office. However, according to Bjørn Ihler, the founder and CEO of Revontulet, a private counterterrorism intelligence and research company, the evidence linking Rodden to the "GlomarResponder" account is strong and leaves little room for doubt. He stated that the extensive investigation conducted by Monacelli and his team is thorough and credible.
Cyrus Mehta, a New York-based immigration attorney with over 30 years of experience, expressed concern over the views allegedly espoused by Rodden. He stated that a government lawyer who vilifies those they oppose in court and shares those views online would be engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.
This is not the first time that ICE has been under scrutiny for the behavior of its employees. In a separate incident, a Texas teacher was accused of using social media to lure ICE to a school in Fort Worth. These incidents raise questions about the ethics and professionalism of those working within the agency and the potential impact on the administration of justice for vulnerable immigrants, refugees, and political asylum seekers.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
