Iowa Superintendent Ian Roberts Arrested by ICE: What We Know So Far

The largest school district in Iowa faces a tumultuous start to the new school year after federal immigration officers arrested Superintendent Ian Roberts, and the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the district’s hiring practices.

Since Roberts’ arrest on Sept. 26, multiple questions have emerged, including whether Roberts has been legally eligible to work in the United States.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers say that Roberts is allegedly in the country unlawfully with a final order of removal and no work authorization. Meanwhile, Des Moines school board leaders say Roberts allegedly identified himself as a U.S. citizen in his job application, presenting both a driver’s license and Social Security card for his I-9 employment eligibility verification form.

Roberts remains in Woodbury County Jail as of Sept. 30, according to the ICE detainee locator.

Here’s everything we know so far about the case.

Who is Ian Roberts?

Roberts was born in Guyana and spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn, New York, according to his Des Moines district biography, which as of Sept. 30 was only accessible via the Internet Archive.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Coppin State University in Maryland in 1998, where he majored in criminology, according to the university. At Coppin, he was a Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference track and field champion in the 800 meters each year he competed, according to the university. He earned academic and athletic All-American honors, and became the school’s first male All-American, and the university’s first Olympic athlete. His Des Moines district biography said he competed in track and field at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and World Championships in Maebashi, Japan, and Seville, Spain.

When did Ian Roberts start working as superintendent of Des Moines public schools?

Roberts was hired to lead the Des Moines school district in July 2023 with a base salary of $270,000, according to his initial contract.

School board officials have said they had retained JG Consulting to conduct a search for a superintendent and identified Roberts as a candidate. The firm Baker-Eubanks conducted a third-party comprehensive background check.

District officials added that Roberts completed the I-9 employment eligibility verification form, stating he was a U.S. citizen, and submitted a driver’s license and Social Security card with it. Those documents, together, are considered acceptable proof of identity and employment authorization under U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rules.

Jackie Norris, chair of the Des Moines school board, said the Dentons Davis Brown law firm reviewed Roberts’ submitted I-9 form and said the information presented on and with the form did not raise concerns about his eligibility to work.

At no point did Roberts or a federal agency notify any district employee or board member that Roberts was not eligible to work, Norris said.

District officials also said that the Iowa board of educational examiners issued Roberts a license to serve as superintendent in the state of Iowa in July 2023.

When and why was Ian Roberts arrested by ICE?

ICE officers arrested Roberts on Sept. 26 during a targeted enforcement operation, according to an agency statement. They said he was allegedly in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife.

They added that he allegedly fled the scene, and state patrol officers helped locate him.

ICE officials said that Roberts allegedly entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May 2024.

They added that Roberts allegedly had existing weapon possession charges from February 5, 2020, and that he was in the country illegally with no work authorization.

District officials added that Roberts had a previous firearm charge related to a hunting rifle, which he disclosed to the school board during the hiring process.

Roberts was cited by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in 2021 for having a loaded firearm in his vehicle on state game lands, according to local reports. He was not arrested, but paid a $100 fine plus costs.

“He provided sufficient context and explanation of the situation to move forward in the hiring process. He has also spoken publicly about this experience,” district officials said.

On Oct. 3, ICE officials revealed additional past charges, including a 1996 charge for drug possession, a 1998 charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle, and, most recently, an Oct. 2 charge of being in the country illegally in possession of firearms.

Does Ian Roberts remain employed?

On Sept. 28, two days after his arrest, the Iowa board of educational examiners revoked Roberts’ license to practice as a superintendent in the state of Iowa. He has until Oct. 28 to file an appeal.

Without the license, Roberts is out of compliance with his contract, and as a result, the school board voted to put him on unpaid administrative leave the evening of Sept. 29, the day they learned of the state’s decision.

On Sept. 30, through his lawyer Alfredo Parrish, Roberts resigned from his position as superintendent of the Des Moines district.

“Out of concern for his 30,000 students, Dr. Roberts does not want to distract the Board, educators, and staff from focusing on educating DMPS’s students,” the resignation letter read.

Later that day, the board voted to accept his resignation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of students walked out in protest of Roberts’ arrest on Sept. 30, according to local reports.

Is Ian Roberts a U.S. Citizen?

On Sept. 29, the Des Moines school board said they received a document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security notifying them that Roberts is an unauthorized worker in the country, and they received a copy of the final order of removal issued by the U.S. Department of Justice and signed by an immigration judge.

On Sept. 30, Parrish, Roberts’ attorney, said the law firm filed a motion to stay through the Omaha immigration court to prevent him from immediately being deported, and he said the firm would file to reopen Roberts’ immigration case.

Parrish declined to answer the question of whether Roberts was a U.S. citizen at a press conference, stating he was able to respond but did not want to respond at that point.

On Oct. 3 ICE officials revealed more about Roberts’ immigration record including that he: first entered the U.S. in 1994 on a visitor’s visa; by 1999 he had a student visa; in 2000 he got work authorization which expired in 2001; he filed multiple applications for a green card all of which were denied; and he got new employment authorization documents in 2019 which expired in 2020.

Where did Ian Roberts work before Des Moines Public Schools?

Roberts was superintendent of the Millcreek Township school district in Erie, Pa., before starting his superintendency in Des Moines, Iowa.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he also served as chief schools officer at Aspire public schools in Oakland, Calif., a middle and high school superintendent of St. Louis public schools in Missouri, and in other education roles in Baltimore, the District of Columbia, and New York. His educational career has spanned more than 20 years.

The Millcreek district, in a statement, said that Roberts was hired to lead the district in 2020 and underwent a vetting and search process conducted by Ray and Associates, Inc., a national educational executive leadership search firm.

Millcreek district leaders added that they received all required clearances, including an FBI background check prior to Roberts’ hiring, and found no disqualifying events.

Roberts was authorized by the Pennsylvania department of education to serve as superintendent, and he completed and submitted an I-9 employment eligibility verification form and supplied documentation to support his employment eligibility.

In an emailed statement, the Aspire public schools district in California said that “Aspire does not release personal records or information about current or former employees without a signed release of information or in response to a subpoena request.”

What lawsuits involve Ian Roberts?

On Oct. 1, Millcreek district leaders announced in a statement that they “instructed our Solicitors to determine whether the District has any claims against Roberts as a result of his fraudulent misrepresentations, and if so, to aggressively pursue them.”

They added that they were “actively evaluating potential litigation against the search firm Ray & Associates, Inc.,” which the district relied on for recruiting Roberts.

Similarly, on Oct. 3, the Des Moines board filed a lawsuit against JG Consulting, the firm that led the search for Roberts back in 2023.

“The search firm failed in their duty to properly vet the candidates, and Ian Roberts should have never been presented as a potential Superintendent,” Norris said in a statement. “JG Consulting’s contract required them to bring all known information of a positive or negative nature to the Board, and since that did not happen, the Board will pursue aggressive legal action in accordance with the law.”

Have other federal agencies been involved in Ian Roberts’ case?

On Sept. 30, the Justice Department’s civil rights division launched an investigation into the Des Moines district as to whether it engages in discriminatory hiring practices.

The notice cites the district’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in hiring more teachers of color.