The illegal immigrant who served as the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district has a lengthy rap sheet going back nearly two decades, the Department of Homeland Security revealed Friday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts of Guyana last week after he received a deportation order in May 2024, according to ICE.
Roberts was most recently hit with federal charges for allegedly being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm following his latest arrest, where he was caught with a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife after he tried to flee the scene, according to DHS.
“Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge, should have never been able to work around children,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement following the latest revelation on Roberts’ criminal record.
“When ICE officers arrested this Superintendent, he was in possession of an illegal handgun, a hunting knife, and nearly $3,000 in cash. This criminal illegal alien is now in U.S. Marshals custody and facing charges for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children FIRST.”
Credit: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Roberts first came to the United States in 1994 as a tourist, before acquiring a student visa in 1999, according to DHS.
It wasn’t long before Roberts found himself wrapped up with the law in the United States.
On July 3, 1996, Roberts was charged with criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery device, and possession of a forged instrument in New York, according to DHS.
Two years later, he faced a charge for third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle in Queens, New York, which was later dismissed.
Roberts was convicted for reckless driving, unsafe operation, and speeding in Maryland on November 1, 2012, DHS said.
He then faced charges in 2020 for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon (having a loaded firearm outside his home or business); third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (an ammunition feeding device); and fourth-degree weapon charges.
Roberts was convicted in 2022 of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in Pennsylvania, according to DHS.
The ex-superintendent tried to apply for a green card four different times and was denied on each attempt.
His employment authorization expired on December 18, 2020, roughly three years before he was hired for his latest role in Des Moines, according to DHS.
He also failed to appear at his latest hearing, where an immigration judge ordered his removal from the United States, according to DHS.
Des Moines Public Schools hired the firm JG Consulting to recruit possible superintendent candidates in December 2022, the school district said. The firm used the company Baker-Eubanks to conduct a background check into Roberts, which the district said “found nothing related to citizenship or immigration matters related” to him.
However, a spokesman for Baker-Eubanks recently told The Daily Wire that “all publicly available criminal records” were shared with the school district, which “ultimately chose to proceed with the hire despite having received” the concerning history.
The school district is now suing JG Consulting, saying it failed to properly vet Roberts.