The superintendent of one of the largest school districts in Iowa was arrested Friday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), bringing chaos, confusion and a national spotlight.
Superintendent Ian Roberts, who began his tenure at Des Moines Public Schools in 2023, was arrested by ICE, which says he has faced “a final order of removal by an immigration judge” since May 2024.
School district officials say they knew nothing about that and that their hiring processes indicated Roberts, a former Olympic athlete who competed for Guyana, was a U.S. citizen and able to work in the country.
What is known so far about Roberts’s detention and the school’s response:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says Roberts had final removal orders since 2024 and also had other charges against him earlier than that.
The government says Roberts came to the U.S. on a student visa in 1999 and allegedly “tried to evade arrest.” The DHS also accuses Roberts of possessing a loaded handgun, which would be illegal for a noncitizen.
“It is a violation of federal law for those in the U.S. without legal status to possess a firearm and ammunition,” the release states.
The DHS said an existing weapons possession charge was on Roberts’s record since February 2020.
“This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats,” said Sam Olson, director of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul field office, according to KCCI Des Moines. “How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.”
School district officials say they were completely unaware Roberts’s status was in question and have yet to verify the facts given to them by the DHS.
In a 7-0 school board vote Saturday, Roberts was placed on paid administration leave.
“I want to be clear, no one here was aware of any citizenship or immigration issues that Dr. Roberts may have been facing,” said Jackie Norris, the chair of the school board who is also running for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat. “The accusations ICE has made against Dr. Roberts are very serious, and we are taking them very seriously.”
In an interview with KCCI Des Moines, Norris went further to say there were “no red flags” in Roberts’s hiring process.
“This is an individual that has worked in multiple states, that has served on boards, that has been a superintendent before,” she told the outlet. “We followed all of the steps in the process, and now I think we have to wait for the facts.”
Politicians and concerned parents are not letting the school district off the hook, though Roberts’s supporters have also rallied and protested in his defense.
“He should have never been anywhere around Iowa kids in the first place!” Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) wrote in a social media post.
In Facebook posts made by the district about the situation, comments were split between those who support Roberts and those questioning how he got hired in the first place.
Norris told the local outlet the federal government never notified the district after Roberts allegedly received his removal orders last year.
Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds said the arrest was “shocking, particularly his attempt to evade authorities, and the loaded gun, knife and large sum of cash found in his vehicles.”
While the governor said she doesn’t want to comment on the details in an ongoing investigation, Reynolds proclaimed “Iowans won’t stand” for those who believe “immigration laws are optional.”
For Roberts, he has obtained a lawyer and will likely fight his deportation.
For the school district, it has already put into place Matt Smith as an interim superintendent.
“We stand firm with our community, many of whom are feeling sad, outraged, and helpless,” Smith said in a statement.
As for the hiring processes at the school district, Norris contends there is nothing different that could have been done to avoid this situation.
“We followed the process,” Norris told KCCI Des Moines. “I think this is sparking a far broader conversation than just Des Moines Public Schools, and I think it’s really important to point that out, because citizenship is clearly so complex.”
“It is not acceptable and we cannot allow that to happen, so we need to find out why,” she added. “Just like, I’m sure you know, Gov. Reynolds and the state is trying to figure out why, because we both are in the same situation.”