An attorney working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is accused of making “racist, bigoted, xenophobic, hateful, harassing and dishonest” posts on an X account while attempting to conceal his identity, according to a legal complaint filed against him.
James Rodden — who, as of at least Wednesday, was serving as an assistant chief counsel at ICE, effectively acting as a prosecutor — allegedly referred to himself on the social media platform as Mr. X with the username @GlomarResponder, as stated in the complaint submitted by J. Whitfield Larrabee, an attorney from Massachusetts.
The Texas Observer asserts it has identified Rodden as the individual behind the @GlomarResponder X account and released an article on Wednesday titled “ICE Prosecutor in Dallas Runs White Supremacist X Account.” The publication claimed to have identified Rodden “based on an overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.”
This article was included in Larrabee’s complaint and seems to be the foundation of his legal action, which lacks any independent evidence directly linking Rodden to the posts made on the @GlomarResponder X account. CBS News has not independently verified Rodden’s connection to the account.
The posts on the X account, which boasts over 17,000 followers, featured comments made over the last year, including statements such as “America is a white country, founded by whites,” “‘Migrants’ are all criminals,” and “I’m a fascist,” according to the complaint.
The complaint notes that the posts “directly” relate to Rodden’s role as an attorney representing the United States in removal proceedings before judges. Individuals involved in such proceedings often include vulnerable immigrants, refugees, and political asylum seekers, and Rodden, in his position as assistant chief legal counsel, “plays a key role in the immigration justice system” and holds a “powerful voice in Court.”
“When the representative of the United States in our immigration courts is motivated by bigotry, racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant bias, and hatred of immigrants, this significantly interferes with the administration of justice and undermines the integrity of our legal system,” the complaint asserts.
This complaint was submitted to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Washington, D.C., where Rodden is licensed to practice, as well as the Office of Professional Responsibility for ICE, according to Larrabee. It requests an investigation and Rodden’s suspension from practicing law.
CBS News has repeatedly sought comment from ICE but received no response as of Friday afternoon.
As reported by the Observer, an ICE spokesperson stated in an email to the publication that the agency would not comment on the “substance” of the article “pending further investigation, including whether the owner of the referenced ‘X’ account is a current employee.”
“Nevertheless, ICE holds its employees to the highest standards of professionalism and takes seriously all allegations of inappropriate conduct,” the email reportedly stated.
CBS News Texas reached out to Rodden using a phone number and email address listed as his in public records.
The Observer reported that Rodden did not respond to multiple emailed requests for comment, and that a man reached at a phone number associated with Rodden declined to confirm his identity and hung up.
“When approached in a public hallway outside the Dallas immigration court and asked to confirm receipt of the emailed requests, Rodden merely told the individual to ‘call [his] press office,'” the Observer noted.
Rep. Marc Veasey, who represents the Dallas Fort Worth area in Congress, stated in a post on Thursday on the platform: “James Rodden has exposed himself as a white supremacist while serving as ICE’s Assistant Chief Counsel. I am demanding answers, sending a letter of inquiry, and calling for a full investigation now.”
