DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal immigration agents arrested the leader of Iowa’s largest school district Friday in a targeted enforcement action that shocked students and educators.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement called Des Moines Public School Superintendent Ian Roberts a “criminal alien,” saying he was in the country illegally and had no work authorization. Roberts, who is from Guyana in South America, was considered an ICE fugitive because he was subject to a final removal order issued in 2024, the agency said.
ICE said that it targeted Roberts for arrest by initiating a traffic stop on Friday while he was driving in his school-issued vehicle. Roberts identified himself and then fled, the agency said.
Officers later discovered his vehicle abandoned near a wooded area, and the Iowa State Patrol was called to help find Roberts, who was soon taken into ICE custody. It is unclear where Roberts was being held Friday afternoon.
Roberts, who has described himself as a longtime gun owner and hunter, was in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 cash and a fixed blade hunting knife when arrested, ICE said.
“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,” ICE enforcement and removal operations regional official Sam Olson said in a statement. “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.”
Roberts is an experienced educator
Leaders of the Des Moines district said that they were unaware of details of his immigration status and still gathering information about the situation, which they called legally complex. They described Roberts as a dynamic leader who connected with students of all backgrounds.
A longtime leader at school districts across the nation, the 54-year-old began his term as superintendent of Des Moines schools in July 2023. In that position, he oversaw a district that serves more than 30,000 students and nearly 5,000 employees.
Des Moines school board chairwoman Jackie Norris said a state board had granted Roberts a license to serve as superintendent in 2023 and that the district has been unable to verify ICE’s claims about his immigration status. She said that Roberts had been an “integral part of the community” since his arrival.
In a joint statement, the presidents of unions representing teachers and other school employees in Des Moines and across the state said they were shocked by Roberts’ detention. They said he had been a “tremendous advocate for students, families, staff, and the community.”
“His leadership and compassion for all students, regardless of background, identity, or family origin, are a beacon of light in one of the state’s most diverse school districts,” said the statement by Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown and Des Moines Education Association President Anne Cross. “It is a dark and unsettling time in our country. This incident has created tremendous fear for DMPS students, families, and staff.”
Phil Roeder, the district’s spokesperson, said he was supposed to meet Roberts at a school event Friday morning but Roberts sent a text saying he could not make it. Roeder said he got a video call from Roberts soon after and watched officials detain him.
Before coming to Iowa, Roberts had previously worked as superintendent of the Millcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania.
Roberts is the son of immigrant parents from Guyana
A biography for Roberts listed on the district’s website says he was born to immigrant parents from Guyana and spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York.
Coppin State University’s website features an alumni profile of Roberts, who graduated from the school in Baltimore in 1998. In it, Roberts said his father immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, and his mother immigrated in the early 2000s.
ICE said that Roberts entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999. The next year, he competed for Guyana in the Olympics in track and field.
Matt Smith, a Des Moines schools official who was appointed Friday to serve as interim superintendent, said members of the community felt “sad, outraged and helpless” after learning of Roberts’ detention.
Pleaded guilty to a gun infraction
ICE pointed to a prior weapons charge for Roberts but provided no details.
Court records in Pennsylvania show that Roberts pleaded guilty in January 2022 to a minor infraction for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and was fined $100 plus court costs. The case stemmed from a citation in Erie County issued the prior month by a Pennsylvania Game Commission officer, who stopped Roberts as he was finishing a day of deer hunting on state lands.
Roberts said at the time he was a longtime licensed hunter and gun owner, and that he left his hunting rifle on the seat of his vehicle in plain view to ensure the officer did not feel threatened during their interaction. He said that he was shocked when the officer cited him for doing so, but that he pleaded guilty to avoid any distraction. He questioned whether his dark skin may have played a role in the case.
“I may not appear to be the ‘type of man’ who would enjoy deer season in Pennsylvania, in fact, I am and have been hunting for more than 20 years,” Roberts wrote on a social media post then.
It was the second time in two days that an aggressive action by ICE shocked local officials in Iowa. On Thursday, agents in plain clothes who refused to identify their affiliation tackled a man who was working at a grocery store in downtown Iowa City, pinning him to the floor and handcuffing him as shocked shoppers looked on.
___
Associated Press writer Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed to this report.
The post ICE arrests leader of Iowa’s largest public school district, calling him a ‘criminal alien’ appeared first on Associated Press.
