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.
The District maintains that a third-party comprehensive background check was conducted on Roberts, and he was required to verify employment eligibility for all employees. If that is the case, Roberts may have lied on school forms about his eligibility. The District says that “Dr. Roberts completed the I-9 employment eligibility verification form and submitted the required documentation.”
His hiring by the Des Moines School District was conducted in secret, and there are conflicting reports on whether some in the district may have been aware of his illegal status. The District denies that allegation, but did acknowledge that they were aware of a prior gun charge related to a hunting rifle.
When ICE and Iowa State police moved to arrest him, Roberts sped off. He was later found hiding in high grass, and his car contained a loaded handgun, a large amount of cash, and a hunting knife.
Associate Superintendent Matt Smith will serve as interim superintendent and quoted Roberts as a guide on how they would move forward. Smith expressed how “devastated” the district is over the arrest, but “In the words of Dr. Roberts, ‘if you paddle together, you will survive the tide. If you paddle alone, you will likely drown.’ As we learn more, we chose to paddle together.”
Paddling together does not seem the case in the public statements and could become more difficult if the federal government pursues the district for the hiring of an undocumented person.
Hundreds of protesters gathered to denounce ICE and demand the return of Roberts. Politicians and protesters brushed aside the illegal gun in his car and his flight from law enforcement. That includes a possible charge from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives over the firearm found in his car.
It also appears that Roberts may have violated the district policies barring weapons, which state that “weapons are prohibited on school grounds or at a school-sponsored or school-related activity.”
In its statement Friday evening, the Des Moines district said a third-party comprehensive background check had been conducted on Roberts and he would have been required to verify employment eligibility for all employees.
In a post on Facebook, Iowa Rep. Larry McBurney, D-Des Moines, said he was “furious” about Roberts’ arrest: “This is not only unacceptable, it is an outright disgrace.” He added:
“I hold President Trump and Iowa’s delegation — Congressman Zach Nunn, Senator Chuck Grassley, and Senator Joni Ernst — directly responsible for this action. Their silence or complicity will not go unnoticed. If they have any shred of leadership, they must intervene immediately.”
Mazie Stilwell, executive director of Progress Iowa, joined McBurney in the expression of outrage:
“No Iowan is safe. We’re living under a fascist regime because Nunn, Miller-Meeks, Hinson, and every single Iowa Member of Congress has been in lockstep with the MAGA administration that is terrorizing our communities. President Trump is willing to use political power against anyone who disagrees with him.”
Roberts, 52, claims a Bachelor of Science degree from Coppin State University in Baltimore and received his doctorate in Urban Educational Leadership and a Master’s degree in Education from St. John’s University in Queens, New York City. He was previously superintendent in the Millcreek Township School District, which covers suburban areas outside Erie, Pennsylvania.
That means that he filled out this paperwork previously and either revealed his undocumented status or lied.
He also worked as the superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools High School Network, as well as a chief schools officer, superintendent of secondary schools, principal, and senior vice president of a charter management organization in Baltimore, the South Bronx, and Washington, D.C.
As Des Moines’ 15th superintendent, he received a base salary of $270,000 annually as part of his two-year contract. It also includes a payment to a “tax-sheltered annuity” of 14% of his annual salary, as well as a $600 monthly car allowance and reimbursement for “all in-district related travel.”
The question is how the federal government will respond to these multiple school districts hiring Roberts. It is unlawful to hire someone with an illegal status under immigration laws.
DHS classifies an employer as “knowingly” hiring an “unauthorized alien” if, after November 6, 1985, the employer “enters into, renegotiates, or extends a contract or subcontract to obtain the labor of an alien you know is not authorized to work in the United States.” Under Section 11.8, ICE allows for a “good faith” defense when determining if an employer knew the illegal immigration status of an employee.
The government can seek injunctive relief against employers who fail to properly vet their workers.