An attorney who worked for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been accused of disturbing online behavior. James Rodden, who worked as the agency’s assistant chief counsel, allegedly operated a “racist, bigoted, xenophobic, hateful, harassing and dishonest” X account, according to a legal complaint filed against him.
The complaint was made by J. Whitfield Larrabee, a Massachusetts-based attorney. Last week, the Texas Observer reported that Rodden was behind the X account of user @GlomarResponder.
The publication made this determination due to the “overwhelming number of biographical details matched through publicly available documents, other social media activity, and courtroom observation.” It extensively reviewed posts by the account since 2012 and deduced that it was Rodden by connecting those to federal court records and background interviews.
CBS News stated that Larrabee used the the Texas Observer’s article in the complaint and it seemingly serves as the crux for his legal filing. The account, which boasts over 17,000 followers, contained tweets including, “America is a white country, founded by whites,” and “Migrants’ are all criminals.”
The complaint says the posts correlate to Rodden’s role as he works with immigrants, political asylum applicants and refugees. As an assistant chief legal counsel, the document also labels his voice as a powerful one 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 seriously interferes with the administration of justice and undermines the integrity of our legal system,” the complaint explains.
The document was filed with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in Washington, D.C. Larrabee stated it’s also the city where Rodden was licensed to practice. The complaint ultimately calls for an investigation as well as for Rodden to be suspended from practicing law.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will not comment on the substance of this article pending further investigation, to include whether the owner of the referenced ‘X’ account is a current employee,” an ICE spokesperson said in a statement to the Texas Observer.
The spokesperson also shared that ICE takes allegations of inappropriate conduct by its employees seriously.