Until Friday, Ian Roberts, 54, was superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa’s largest school district, known as a champion for students and frequently seen at community events.
Superintendent since 2023, Roberts held educational leadership roles in the United States for more than 20 years after coming to the country from Guyana in 1991 on a student visa. He was a schools superintendent in Pennsylvania when the school system, which educates more than 30,000 students and employs nearly 5,000, hired him.
On Sept. 26, Roberts fled a traffic stop in Des Moines, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Later, ICE and Iowa State Patrol apprehended Roberts, and reported that they had found a loaded handgun in his school district-issued vehicle, a hunting knife and $3,000 in cash.
ICE arrested Roberts upon discovery that he was in the U.S. illegally; a final order of removal was signed by an immigration judge and issued for Roberts in May 2024, as reported by The Associated Press.
“At the same time, it is important to our community to establish a clear, verifiable timeline and to confirm that ICE’s enforcement actions involving a senior public official were supported by proper documentation,” U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican who represents the Des Moines area, wrote to ICE on Saturday with a request for records related to Roberts’ case.
Nunn told The AP he was alarmed by the circumstances.
Roberts, who competed as part of the Guyana Olympic team in the 2000 Sydney Games, is being held in an Iowa jail, and Des Moines Associate Superintendent Matt Smith has been appointed as interim superintendent.
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On Monday, the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners sent a letter to Roberts informing him of his ineligibility to hold a license because he does not “possess legal presence in the United States.” Background checks by Iowa State Patrol and the FBI were conducted as part of the licensure process. However, the Iowa Department of Education said that verification of an employee’s eligibility to work in the country is the school system’s responsibility.
Des Moines school officials told the AP they knew nothing about Roberts being in the country illegally. A search firm hired by the school system identified Roberts as a candidate and conducted a “comprehensive background check.”
During his hiring process in 2023, Roberts signed a form verifying his citizenship in the U.S., and submitted a driver’s license and Social Security card.
On Monday evening, the Des Moines School Board unanimously voted to put Roberts on unpaid leave. In May, the school board voted to extend his contract through June 30, 2028; however, the contract requires he hold a state certification as superintendent.
“We need to understand what happened and why,” Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris said. She added that Roberts’ attorney would have until noon today to challenge ICE’s allegations or he would be fired.
Des Moines students identified with Roberts “and the enthusiasm he brought to our classroom,” according to Norris. She added that students were scared and concerned that he was arrested, and asked that critics stop “the hateful rhetoric directed at our district,” which was impacted the students.
Carrying a gun in a school vehicle is a violation of the school system’s policy, Norris said.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating how Roberts obtained a handgun. Individuals in the U.S. illegally may not legally possess firearms. However, in 2021, Roberts was cited in Pennsylvania and fined $100 for storing a loaded hunting rifle in his vehicle. ICE alleges that he also had a separate, pending weapons charge from February 2020, the details of which were the reason for Nunn’s letter to ICE.
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Rebecca Barnabi
