Ernesto LondoñoHamed Aleaziz and Ann Hinga Klein:
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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To be fair, whomst amongst us can honestly say that we haven’t been an illegal Guyanese immigrant with a prior firearms charge and gotten a position as Superintendent of the largest school system in the State of Iowa?
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Parents in Des Moines need to blow up the Governor’s phone and email. The search firm failed to disclose the criminal record. The school board was grossly negligent in failing to review a criminal background, and every student in the district was in danger under his leadership. Do NOT underestimate the severity of this.
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This is what I found on the Consulting Company – I think it’s time to start doing Open records requests.
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Ian Roberts, the Des Moines school superintendent arrested by ICE, has so many inconsistencies in his public biographies that it’s amazing that no one questioned his identity before.
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The firm that led the search for Ian Roberts to take over as superintendent at Des Moines Public Schools has scrubbed the hire from its website.
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The Des Moines superintendent arrested today wasn’t just an illegal alien — he oversaw an Affirmative Action Program giving teachers free degrees in “Culturally Responsive Leadership” and educating students through a “social justice lens.” 👇
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Des Moines Public Schools just placed Superintendent Ian Roberts on paid leave. Board Chair Jackie Norris made a statement providing some information about how Roberts was hired. She says that he claimed to be a citizen and that the outside firm hired to do a background check did not turn up any concerns about his immigration status.
She concluded with a plea to “cool down the rhetoric” and to stop spreading “misinformation,” urging people to consider how upsetting the situation is for children, who she said are on social media “24/7.”
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The DHS statement says Roberts entered the United States on a student visa in 1999. Roberts had a “final order of removal” in May 2024 for the deportation.
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If you’re wondering why the Board and others are so hesitant to condemn this guy, remember that having the backing of the unions makes you practically untouchable.
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🚨 I have confirmed from Maryland Freedom Caucus Chairman, @MattMorgan29A (R) that Des Moines Superintendent Ian Roberts has been a registered voter in Maryland since 2012.
Roberts is an illegal alien.
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Ian Roberts spoke at an event at UC Berkeley in 2019. An article written about his talk included some of the falsehoods Roberts has often told, like the claim that he had a doctorate at the time. (I’m assuming calling it a PhD instead of an EdD was the writer’s error.)
Roberts is quoted as saying, “What I learned is that I was never going to give my pen to someone else to write my story.” more.
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Now the election official in Maryland responded:
“I must apologize. Mr. Roberts has never voted in Maryland. He was mailed a mail-in ballot April 2, 2025, but he never cast it. Mr. Roberts has never voted in Maryland. Attached is a copy of his voter history in Maryland.”
Attached as a completely blank spreadsheet.
According to what they sent us previously, Roberts’ voter record in Maryland opened Jan. 18, 2012. His status became “inactive” in July of 2014. On Dec. 14, 2016, his inactive status was canceled. In Febuary of 2017, he was made active. It appears he was sent absentee ballots beginning in 2020. I think Maryland may need to revampe its voting procedures.
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“School districts must cease these unlawful programs and restore merit-based employment practices for the benefit of both students and employees.”