To those who know him, Superintendent Ian Roberts is an “integral part” of the school community and a former principal of the year. But to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he is a “criminal alien” and a threat to public safety.
Those competing descriptions of Roberts, 54, emerged following his dramatic arrest by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Friday morning, in a case that has stunned the Des Moines, Iowa, community for which he has worked for years.
Roberts, an educator with decades of experience who became Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in 2023, was detained by ICE in a “targeted enforcement operation” last week.
Read more: Even With Tons of Money, ICE Finds Obstacles in Hiring 10,000 New Agents
Immigration officials say Roberts is a citizen of Guyana whose work permit expired in 2020. A statement by ICE said an immigration judge gave him a final order of removal in May 2024.
Authorities acted upon that removal order on Friday morning. ICE said Roberts sped away in his vehicle when officers approached him on Friday morning, abandoning his vehicle near a wooded area. He was later arrested with a loaded handgun, ICE said, a violation of federal law for those in the U.S. without legal status.
Protests and confusion
Roberts’s arrest has roiled the Des Moines community, where he had responsibility for some 30,000 students and had worked for years.
The detention comes amid a deepening immigration crackdown across the country by the Trump Administration, as it aims to meet its target of carrying out the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history.
President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to target “the worst of the worst” in his deportation efforts, but the government’s own data shows that around 70% of people detained by ICE had no criminal record. According to recent polling, approval of Trump’s handling of immigration has dropped from around 50% in March to 43% this month.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse in Des Moines following the arrest, calling for Roberts’s release. Some carried signs that read “Free Dr Roberts.” Teachers from neighboring school districts joined students and parents at the protest, according to CNN.
The case appeared to have caught the local school district by surprise. School Board Chair Jackie Norris said Friday that the district was still working to learn more about what happened, and called for the community to practice “radical empathy” while the investigation was ongoing.
“We do not have all the facts. There is much we do not know,” she said. “However, what we do know is Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined two years ago.”
A biography on the Des Moines Public Schools website describes Roberts as an educator with “two decades of experience as a classroom teacher, school administrator and executive leader.”
Born in Brooklyn to immigrant parents from Guyana, Roberts competed in track and field at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney before earning master’s degrees from St. John’s University and Georgetown University, and a doctorate in urban educational leadership from Trident University. His career has included posts in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., the South Bronx, and Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania. He was named George Washington University’s Washington, D.C., Principal of the Year in 2013.
ICE said in its release after his arrest that Roberts had existing weapon possession charges from 2020. But Roberts had disclosed that arrest during his hiring process, according to the school district, and had spoken about that arrest publicly
‘No Iowan is safe’
Mazie Stilwell, the executive director of Progress Iowa and a parent of a child in the Des Moines Public School system, called the arrest an “attack on our freedoms”.
“No Iowan is safe. It is time for them to finally stand up for us and stop these attacks on our freedoms and our communities,” Stilwell said in a statement. “Every Iowan should call their legislators and ask why Iowans are being detained, and what they are doing to protect us.”
Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown and Des Moines Education Association Anne Cross said in a joint statement that they were “shocked” to hear of Roberts’s detainment.
“Since being hired as superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, we have known Dr. Roberts to be 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,” they said.
“It is a dark and unsettling time in our country. This incident has created tremendous fear for DMPS students, families, and staff. We call on the community to come together and support each other,” they added.
Republicans and immigration officials, meanwhile, criticized the school board for allowing a person they characterized as a public safety threat to work for the school system for so long.
“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,” said ICE St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson.
“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,” he added.
The Des Moines school board is due to hold a special closed session to discuss the situation on Sept. 27.
The post ICE Arrested a Beloved School Superintendent. The Community Rallied Behind Him. appeared first on TIME.
