An illegal migrant with a criminal history who was in charge of overseeing the running of a number of schools in Iowa is now facing deportation.

Ian Roberts, the superintendent of the Des Moines School Board, was arrested by ICE agents after he was found to be an undocumented migrant with a final order for deportation.

The arrest of the popular superintendent sparked a backlash in the state leading his supporters to protest for his release.

In addition to him being in the US illegally, inconsistencies in his CV and previous run-ins with the law, which allegedly involved Mr Roberts carrying a gun through an airport, have since emerged.

Mr Roberts was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Sept 26 after he was found hiding, dressed in a suit, near a trailer park.

Investigators said he had fled in a Jeep owned by the school district, where a loaded handgun, a hunting knife and $3,000 in cash were later recovered.