Here is the latest installment of the saga of "Iowa educator" Ian Roberts, the former Des Moines School Superintendent and illegal immigrant education fabulist. On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a detailed press release which delineated just how many times Roberts illegally entered and exited the United States and a record of his criminal history. 

Hoo boy, it's a long one.

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On October 2, Roberts was criminally charged in U.S. District Court with being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. He was transferred from a Sioux City jail into ICE detention to await trial. 

Last month, ICE Des Moines arrested Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with four rejected green card applications and a 2024 final order of removal who was working as the superintendent of an Iowa school district. Since the arrest, media misinformation has grown.  On Friday, ICE issued new information about his extensive criminal history to bring truth to the public narrative surrounding his arrest.  

Learn the details in our newsroom.

The DHS release began:

Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released new information on criminal illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts, who was serving as Des Moines, Iowa’s school superintendent at the time of his Sept. 26 arrest.

When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials approached Roberts, he identified himself then sped off, abandoned his vehicle, and hid in a brushy area about 200 meters away, where ICE officers located him with help from Iowa State Patrol officers. At the time of arrest, a loaded handgun, hunting knife and $3,000 cash were found in his vehicle. On Oct. 2, he was charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.

Roberts’ rap sheet and immigration history reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States. He should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.

With Roberts' criminal background, he should have never been allowed to be around children, let alone become a superintendent of schools. Yet, here we are. 

Roberts' criminal record includes the following.

• July 3, 1996: Charges for criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument in New York.

According to Roberts' LinkedIn profile, he attended Coppin State University between 1995 and 1998. Attorney Laura Powell unearthed a 1998 Baltimore Sun news clipping, reporting on a Coppin awards ceremony where Roberts was one of the speakers. The article identified him as a college sophomore, which is curious, because his profile claims he received his B.S. in 1998, which would have made him a senior. Coppin's website also has a profile on Roberts, curiously under the name of "Andre Ian" Roberts. This profile ascribes his class year as Class of '98.

Riddle me this: What happened to that drug charge? Had Roberts been convicted, he would have surely been kicked out of Coppin, where he allegedly had a track-and-field scholarship. With such a charge on his record, he also would never have been eligible for the 2000 Olympic Games in which he did compete.  

• Nov. 13, 1998: A charge for third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle in Queens, New York, which was dismissed July 6, 1999.

This vehicle charge appears to be another bullet dodged, allowing Roberts to go on to represent Guyana at the Sydney Olympic Games. Between 2000 and 2012, Roberts spent time in Maryland and D.C. where he supposedly worked as a "Principal, Managing Director of School Turnaround District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS)." Maryland is also where Roberts became a registered Democrat voter, despite the fact that he was not a U.S. citizen. 

In 2012, Roberts racked up his first conviction. 

• Nov. 1, 2012: A conviction for reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland.

Not necessarily a big deal, but enough of a red flag to elicit concern. Starting in 2020, when Roberts was employed as a Superintendent of Schools at Millcreek Township School District in Erie, Pennsylvania, and was having his paychecks garnished for back child support, Roberts racked up several weapons charges. 

• Feb. 3, 2020: Charges 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. A document from Feb. 4, 2020, indicates that the second-degree criminal possession charge was inchoate.
• Jan. 20, 2022: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania convicted Roberts of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm.

On September 26, 2025, when Roberts was apprehended by ICE, he was in possession of a Glock 9mm and a fixed-blade hunting knife, racking up yet another weapons charge.

But Roberts criminal record pales in comparison to his immigration blotter. For 30 years, Roberts moved in and out of the U.S., and traveled freely doing motivational speaking and "teaching." If the pictures and activity on his LinkedIn profile are any indication, Roberts was not media shy and trafficked in some prominent circles. He was certainly not, as the left loves to claim of illegals, living in the shadows. DHS documents that Roberts’ immigration history included two visas, four green card applications, and subsequent denials, along with several trips in and out of the country.

• June 1, 1994: Roberts entered the United States at John F. Kennedy International Airport on a B-2 nonimmigrant visa; he was classified as a visitor for pleasure. He departed the U.S. on an unknown date but returned before his 1996 arrest for narcotics possession.

Roberts had originally entered the country on the East Coast, but when he left and came back in 1999, he entered through the West Coast. William Jefferson Clinton was the president, and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) set Roberts up with an F-1 student visa. Once again, had the narcotics charge stuck, he would never have been allowed a visa.

• March 8, 1999: He entered the U.S. through California’s San Francisco International Airport as an F-1 student visa holder. The visa was set to expire March 7, 2004. He departed the U.S. on an unknown date.
• June 28, 1999: Roberts reentered the U.S. through San Francisco on the same F-1 student visa. He departed the U.S. on an unknown date.
• Aug. 30, 1999: He again reentered the U.S. at JFK International Airport on the same student visa.

In 2000, George Herbert Walker Bush was president. This time, Roberts applied for authorization to work in the U.S. According to his LinkedIn profile, Roberts worked as a "teacher," but did not specify where. In 2001, Roberts put in his first application for a green card but in 2003, USCIS denied it. 

That F-1 student visa Roberts was still using to float in and out of the U.S.? It had expired in 2004. One wonders what the grounds were upon which USCIS rejected his application. As we know, this did not stop Roberts from allegedly getting a master's degree and working on his doctorate in education, while bouncing among Baltimore, D.C., and St. Louis.  

• Feb. 9, 2000: Roberts filed an application for employment authorization, which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved April 5, 2000, with an expiration date of April 1, 2001.
• Sept. 4, 2000: He left the U.S. from JFK International Airport.
• Sept. 30, 2000: Roberts entered the U.S. again at JFK International Airport on the same F-1 student visa.
• May 21, 2001: He filed a green card application with USCIS, which the agency rejected Jan. 3, 2003.

But then came the era of Hope and Change. Despite Barack Hussein Obama being dubbed the "Deporter in Chief," Roberts managed to stay comfortable in the U.S. through Obama's eight-year presidency. But then Hope and Change was replaced by MAGA in 2017, when Donald John Trump was elected for his first term. In 2018 and 2019, respectively, Roberts submitted applications for a green card. Both times USCIS rejected them. Curiously, USCIS did grant Roberts a work authorization for a year. Yet, while gaining success in the area of work authorizations, the USCIS refused to issue Roberts a green card. 

Inquiring minds would like to know why.

• May 15, 2018: Roberts filed another green card application with USCIS, which the agency again rejected on May 30 that year.
• June 4, 2018: Roberts filed another green card application, which USCIS rejected for the third time June 20 that year.
• July 15, 2018: He filed for employment authorization documents, which USCIS granted on Dec. 18 that year, giving the documents an expiration date of Dec. 18, 2019.
• July 16, 2018: Roberts filed, for the fourth time, a green card application. USCIS denied it Jan. 24, 2020.
• Nov. 18, 2019: He filed another application for employment authorization documents, which USCIS approved Dec. 3 of that year and issued an expiration date of Dec. 18, 2020.
• Feb. 11, 2020: Roberts updated his address with USCIS.

By the end of Trump's first term, after 29 years, someone at USCIS apparently started connecting the dots. In October 2020, Roberts was ordered to appear before an immigration judge. There is no doubt Roberts was allowed to dodge another bullet with the installation of Joseph Robinette Biden into the White House. Between 2020 and 2023, the rampant influx of illegals across our border left ICE and USCIS with bigger fish to fry. During this period, Roberts was able to attain the role of Superintendent of Schools at PA's Mill Creek Township School District, work there for three years, then resign to take the Superintendent role at the Des Moines School District.

• Oct. 2, 2020: USCIS issued him a notice to appear before an immigration judge.
• May 22, 2024: An immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Roberts removed in absentia.
• April 24, 2025: An immigration judge in Dallas denied Roberts’ motion to reopen his case.

In early September, Roberts was still ensconced in his superintendency at the Des Moines school district. He even appeared on the local news to promote his "Reimagine Education" Plan. 

As Roberts awaits trial, and the Millcreek Township School District and the Des Moines School District point fingers and file lawsuits, the saga rolls on. With this much fodder, there is still much to unpack and unearth on Roberts' 30-years-long con.

Stay tuned... 

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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