The superintendent of the Des Moines Public Schools system was detained on Friday by federal immigration authorities, who say he has been living and working in the United States illegally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said that the superintendent, Ian Roberts, had received a deportation order from an immigration judge in May 2024. He entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa, ICE officials said, and had no work authorization. Dr. Roberts, who was born in Guyana, had faced weapon possession charges from several years ago, the officials said.
On Friday afternoon, as scores of parents and other residents gathered in downtown Des Moines, waving signs and chanting in protest of the superintendent’s detention, school officials told reporters that they needed more information to understand the situation.
“This is challenging on many levels, and the reality is that we may not have additional answers right away,” said Matt Smith, an associate superintendent who was tapped to lead the school system temporarily after the superintendent’s detention on Friday morning.
ICE agents approached Dr. Roberts while he was in his vehicle, and he sped off, according to a statement issued by the agency. He was later found, and his vehicle was found abandoned near a wooded area, the statement said. The agency said that he had a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a hunting knife when he was detained.
The ICE detainee locator website showed that Dr. Roberts was being held at the Pottawattamie County Jail, in western Iowa.
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