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The Department of Homeland Security on Friday detailed a list of all the shocking charges and convictions against illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts, who was working as the head of Des Moines, Iowa, public schools until his recent arrest by ICE.
Roberts is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Polk County jail, according to a Homeland Security statement. In the statement, DHS said that Roberts’ “rap sheet and immigration history reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States,” which the agency said proves “he should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.”
He is currently facing illegal weapons possession charges. The DOJ said a search warrant of Roberts’ home uncovered three guns, a loaded and chambered 9mm pistol was found underneath a seat cushion in the living room, a loaded rifle was wound in the master bedroom closet and a shotgun was found behind the master bedroom headboard.
According to DHS, Roberts was previously convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland in 2012. The statement also said he was convicted in Pennsylvania of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in 2022.
Besides these, he also has charges of 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 dating back to 1996 and charges of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree weapon charges in 2020.
Additionally, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, its civil division served Roberts a sealed restraining order from Jackson County, Missouri, in August 2023. It is unclear what prompted the restraining order since the order was sealed.
He was also discovered to be illegally registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland, raising serious questions about the state’s voter registration system.
Despite these charges and his illegal status, Roberts has held several high roles in public education in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, California, Pennsylvania and Iowa.
After his arrest, he resigned his most recent position as superintendent of schools in Des Moines, a position he had held since 2023. Des Moines Public Schools initially placed Roberts on paid leave before changing it to unpaid leave and then finally voting to accept his resignation.
There has also been confusion over the degrees that Roberts claimed to have attained on his LinkedIn page. Among several schools listed on his profile, Roberts claims to have attended Morgan State University from 2003 to 2007 and to have been an “incoming MBA candidate” at MIT Sloane School of Management. Morgan State University confirmed that he attended. However, it said he “did not receive a degree.”
The MIT Registrar’s Office said that it “has no record of enrollment for a person with the name Ian Andre Roberts, and similarly, there is no record of enrollment in the MIT Executive MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management.”
Before taking charge of the Des Moines public schools, he was superintendent of schools at Millcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania. During his time in leadership, the district was sued for sex discrimination by a male faculty member who claimed Roberts gave principal positions to less qualified women because of a “bias against males in favor of females.” According to local outlet GoErie, this was not the only sex discrimination lawsuit the district faced while Roberts was in charge. The outlet reported the district had to pay over $400,000 in settlements to resolve three sex discrimination suits.
An immigrant from Guyana, DHS said Roberts first entered the country “classified as a visitor for pleasure” in 1994. The agency said he departed at an unknown date but returned again before his 1996 drug charges. He then re-entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999.
In total, he filed applications for employment authorizations three times, in 2000, 2018 and 2019, each of which was granted and lasted a year, meaning that his last work authorization expired in 2020.
U.S. Customs and Immigration Services issued Roberts a notice to appear before an immigration judge in 2020 and on May 22, 2024, an immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Roberts removed in absentia.
He was arrested by ICE with the help of the Iowa State Patrol on Sept. 26. ICE said Roberts attempted to flee arrest and was found hiding in the brush. The vehicle he was driving was found with $3,000 in cash, a fixed blade knife and a loaded Glock 9mm pistol, which led to additional criminal charges of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
Commenting on the revelations since his arrest, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “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.”
“Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children FIRST,” said McLaughlin.
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