a ray of immigration sunshine in mineapolis perhaps? it may be better than what he replaces we'd hope;

 

Nathan Hansen, a right-wing attorney and influential X user who has amplified racist conspiracies and fringe legal theories, will make decisions on which immigrants will be deported in his new job as an immigration judge at Fort Snelling.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review, the division of the U.S. Department of Justice that hires and oversees immigration judges, announced Wednesday that Hansen was appointed after a “competitive application process” and would begin hearing immigrants’ cases this month.

Hansen’s extensive social media history contains posts endorsing popular but widely-debunked right-wing conspiracies including Pizzagate and Obama birtherism, to which President Donald Trump also subscribes. In 2024, he amplified posts about the “Haitian invasion of Ohio,” a racist conspiracy pushed by Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance that accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating family pets.

More recently, he has spoken publicly in support of the federal immigration crackdown here, which led to three shootings in Minneapolis, and the improper detentions of hundreds of immigrants. A federal judge appointed by Trump found “compelling and troubling” evidence of racial profiling during Operation Metro Surge. Lawsuits have also alleged abuse and retaliation against observers and protesters, and targeting of sensitive locations like schools.

“Is there anything we can do to help ICE if we want to?” Hansen commented on Dec. 17, in response to a City of Stillwater Facebook post reminding residents of the distinct responsibilities of local police and federal immigration enforcement.

On a late January Washington County Facebook post, he commented, simply: “I want more ICE.”..........more........