An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prosecutor in Texas who reportedly operates a white supremacist social media account is still working in an immigration court despite calls for an investigation into his online activities.
According to the Texas Observer, James “Jim” Rodden has returned to work in a Dallas immigration court, almost a year after the outlet that first reported that Rodden was behind an X account that posted hateful, racist, anti-Semitic statements.
The account, named GlomarResponder, is now set to private, but was known for making a lengthy series of derogatory posts to its 17,000 followers.
Some of those posts included statements like:
“America is a White nation, founded by Whites … Our country should favor us.”
“All blacks are foreign to my people, dumb f***.”
“’Migrants’ are all criminals.”
An investigative report by the Observer examined Rodden’s social media history, courtroom activities, biographical information, and public documents, all of which linked the ICE assistant chief counsel to the page.
Rodden was pulled from federal immigration court schedules shortly after the report was published, and three members of Congress — Marc Veasey, Bennie Thompson, and Jamie Raskin — sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security demanding that he be investigated.
Veasey asserted that the allegations against Rodden “raise serious questions about the integrity of ICE’s prosecutorial process and its commitment to impartial justice.”
Thompson, who is a ranking member on the U.S. House Homeland Security committee, wrote that the account’s activities violate ICE’s Code of Conduct, and added, “Anyone making racist statements and suggesting violence against immigrants is unfit to represent the United States government in immigration proceedings.”
Protests calling for Rodden’s firing ensued shortly after at a federal building in downtown Dallas.
ICE responded to Veasey’s letter last March, stating that the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) “understands the seriousness of the allegations and will ensure the allegations are addressed appropriately, fairly, and expeditiously” and that typically “OPR administrative investigations are completed within 120 days.”
However, it’s unclear whether an investigation into Rodden’s social activities was completed. He was seen back on the job in recent days. There’s also no word from ICE on the status of his employment.
“I will not let this go unnoticed,” Veasey said in a statement to the Observer. “White supremacists should not hold positions of authority in our justice system, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that Rodden is held accountable.”
ICE’s immigration enforcement operations have ramped up in recent months and have prompted various protests and demonstrations across the country, especially in the wake of the death of Renee Good, a mother and poet who was shot to death by an ICE agent on Jan. 7.
