Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts was arrested this week after fleeing ICE officers and abandoning a school-subsidized car with an illegal handgun inside. Roberts has a criminal record and a long-standing order of removal from the country. The case has become a flashpoint over immigration policies with protesters demanding his release and Democratic politicians denouncing his arrest as evidence of a fascist regime. The controversy is also spilling over into the Senate race, as the district board is headed by Board Chair Jackie Norris, a former Chief of Staff to Michelle Obama and a current Democratic candidate for the United States Senate. Norris called for Iowans to rally around Roberts with “radical empathy.”
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.
“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.”
Doesn’t seem like the conduct of an innocent person or one who is confident he belongs in his position? What we’re witnessing is the unraveling of a great nation, for too long has had the “go along to get along” attitude with DEI and marxism in government. Time is running out and 3 years of President Trump is not enough time to clean house and I’m not confident that enough Americans are reading JT’s column? Let’s hope Vance and Rubio truly come from the same cloth as the president?
The Albuquerque Journal carried an AP article about this alien illegally in the USA but, as a true-blooded lefty excuse for a “news”paper buried it way back in the paper.
The rifle charge should have been immediate dismissal.
*.
We’re the unlucky ones, my dear.
Ian Roberts did well in a mere 25 years coming from a 3rd world to superintendent in the USA at quite a salary and perks. They don’t need no stinking citizenship.
I need a better time-line. Entered 1999 , picked up with weapon 2020. Why no deportation then? All this luminary support like Abrego García.
Meanwhile Kirk gets his throat shot out and Iryna has hers cut while the luminaries say throw them in trash bins.
Nice place. Fine folks.
God have mercy
This case illustrates the stark difference between Right and Left. The guy should obviously be an easy candidate for deportation based on his criminality but Democrats seize on his school board position without paying attention to his rap sheet. Once again, Dems’ knee-jerk anti-Trump reaction has them looking stupid, if not evil, like they did with Charlie Kirk. TDS is their undoing.
To heck with his criminality, (although I am curious why he had a large amount of cash) – he is a black person from Guyana taking $270,000 per year from some other American, probably some DEI black hack, but at least an American.
Maybe he is good at what he does, or maybe not. Who knows? I am impressed that he went to college, and got educated. Maybe we need a compromise!
Let swap Guyana Fani Willis, or Letitia James for Ian Roberts! He can stay, since he at least seems to have some work ethic, and let’s get rid of some American black loser.
Don’t be so impressed with his college credentials until they are verified. So far we only seem to know what he “claims” to have in his educational background, the checking of which has been pretty slipshod in every other respect everywhere he has worked. It might just turn out that some or all of his degrees are just as phony as everything else he has been claiming. Along with his current and former employers, there seem to be some background checking companies that need serious looking into, and maybe a great many background checks of other people that need to be redone.
But there were no complaints about his job performance. So MGA deports only non-whites?
Looks like a nice man but he killed and ate deer, I favor raisin bran myself
This is what DEI produces. Hiring authorities are desperate to fill high paying, high status jobs with people based on characteristics Democrats value most: black skin color (or to be more precise anything other than Caucasian); kooks pretending to be anything other than their biological sex; homos, etc.) So as soon as they find a black person who apparently has a doctorate and on paper the bare minimum qualifications, they salivate like Pavlov’s dog to hire him because he’s not a white, Christian, heterosexual, male.
Now Democrats are in the position of defending a guy who is here illegally; is convicted of gun crimes; who fled law enforcement. They are defending him 1) solely because he’s a black man who presumably has a doctorate and 2) Trump.
What exactly is the reason that the leftist idiots are claiming he should NOT be deported? He is here illegally, he committed crimes while here illegally, he had his day in court (some might call this due process) and he was found (again) with an illegal gun in a gun forbidding school zone.
This proves that the left doesn’t want anyone deported and after they lost the last election, mostly over the border, it proves how far gone the party is today.
HullBobby,
What you describe is something us sane and normal people would call reason, logic, common sense. All things our leftist friends seem to be lacking, as is evident by their responses.
Nobody is above the law, unless you are a black illegal alien and vote for Democrats. I wonder if this clown was registered to vote, too. I have long been angry when I had to fill out an I-9, under penalties of perjury, cough up my birth certificate or social security card, etc. knowing full well that millions of illegals were lying on theirs. From We Are Iowa:
“When he was hired, then-school board Chair Teree Caldwell-Johnson said Dr. Roberts’ “focus on creating equitable experiences for students to thrive, paired with his commitment to continuous improvement, creates an exciting opportunity for our students, staff and community.”
Ahead of the first day of school for the 2023-24 school year, Dr. Roberts told Local 5, “If there’s one sort of desire that I have, is that just my presence and the presence of other individuals who share this identity, and the impact we’re going to have on students? It’s incredibly important for that to be in place.”
In the beginning of 2025, Dr. Roberts helped lead the charge in the district’s Reimagining Education plan.
When he was hired, then-school board Chair Teree Caldwell-Johnson said Dr. Roberts’ “focus on creating equitable experiences for students to thrive, paired with his commitment to continuous improvement, creates an exciting opportunity for our students, staff and community.”
Ahead of the first day of school for the 2023-24 school year, Dr. Roberts told Local 5, “If there’s one sort of desire that I have, is that just my presence and the presence of other individuals who share this identity, and the impact we’re going to have on students? It’s incredibly important for that to be in place.”
In the beginning of 2025, Dr. Roberts helped lead the charge in the district’s Reimagining Education plan.”
https://www.weareiowa.com/article/news/local/ian-roberts-des-moines-public-schools-dmps-superintendent/524-e72a0ec5-210b-4f0c-9b10-d854addc5797
What’s your nation of origin , Floyd, if I’m not being too invasive?
So, his job experience prior to securing his Des Moines position was in Baltimore, NYC, and St. Louis? Gee, I wonder what those jurisdictions have in common? Why would Des Moines rely on them to provide honest information on their prospective new hire, and not conduct their own actual, in-depth, investigation?
Because one doesn’t take the temperature if one doesn’t want to find a fever.
We need a national multiple choice quiz.
Question: You want to deport illegal aliens because…
A. They are here illegally and have no rights to remain.
B. They are known criminals from here or other places.
C. The take jobs away from American citizens.
D. They absorb American resources to the exclusion of other Americans.
E. Some deportations could be exempt for humanitarian reasons.
On E. There are mercy wavers in place already. We got that from Jesus Christ. The crippled, blind encompasses physical handicaps and birth defects, the dying without care. If they call upon him. His compassion is without limits.
Can those seeking be underhanded and unlawful? No, he’d know it.
This just shows that the Democrats only care about their tribe. He is one of them. Nothing else matters.
Democrats frequently decry gun violence, understandably enough when an innocent person is killed by a gun. But they ignore a “loaded handgun” in someone’s car, after he has been previously convicted of an offence involving a “hunting rifle.” They really do believe that gun crimes are committed by the guns themselves.
I guess gun control is important unless the perpetrator is a black illegal immigrant with a final order for deportation and a criminal record who is caught fleeing law enforcement.
Ah, Trump Derangement Syndrome has infected the core Midwest! Just goes to show even Liberal Rubes in Iowa don’t let facts get in the way of moronic outrage! Now we just wait until they begin violently protesting at the ICE gates and enjoy the pepperball show as the cockroaches scatter and the Dem politicians spin this up even more! HAHA!
Every government official – including ICE officials – makes a promise to GOD to follow the U.S. Constitution as a condition of holding any authority at all.
It’s called the American oath of office. One cannot serve in government without agreeing to this loyalty oath. One has no authority until they take this oath.
The 8th Amendment (cruel & unusual punishment or excessive fines) is part of every ICE officials’ oath of office. Constitutional due process is also part of the American oath of office.
According to eye-witnesses, right now ICE officials are snatching people off the street and not even notifying their spouses or families. Suspected illegal immigrants simply disappear, their wife and family don’t know what happened to them. Denying their targets all constitutional due process.
Constitutional due process applies to all persons on U.S. soil including non-citizens. Executive Branch officials must not violate “Carpenter v. US” (4th Amendment) in locating their targets (judicial warrant required).
Once a judge issues a judicial warrant, targets can’t simply be snatched off the street and disappeared incommunicado. ICE’s oath of office (employment contract) requires that they give constitutional due process to all suspects.
The term “suspect” means doubt. The Executive Branch ((ICE) has to test their evidence in court in front a judge. If the evidence is solid, the judge will allow the Executive Branch to deport the suspect.
This is the sacred loyalty oath every ICE official promises GOD to follow. In America, the end goal never, never, never justifies unconstitutional action.
YAWN
It’s funny how you fail to mention that he had previous gun charges and a deportation order in 2024. That should be the end of the story… not all this false and blustery indignation. Just look at the facts and not the politics.
That’s poetic but the government doesn’t have to do much of anything here. “Roberts had a “final order of removal” in May 2024 for the deportation.” I guess it was that fascist Biden administration who’s responsible for this one. I would say that, along with the multiple weapons violations, will make this the easiest one yet.
If one has a formally adjucated order of removal by an immigration judge one has already had all the due process they are expected to have.
The more they snatch, the better
“. . . ICE officials are snatching people off the street and not even notifying their spouses or families. Suspected illegal immigrants simply disappear, their wife and family don’t know what happened to them . . .”
That is preciously the Leftist scare tactic used to justify violence against law enforcement. And every single word is a lie.
Law enforcement, of any type, does *not* have a duty to inform family when you are arrested, detained, or held in custody. Once booked, the record is public and can be searched — just as for those detained by Immigration authorities. It’s called the “Online Detainee Locator System.”
I see where the regressives are back to throwing around words like fascist with impunity.
The contempt they have for their constituents is understandable.
Aside from the fact that he ‘overstayed his visa,’ our school systems sure pay well.
It’s no wonder our schools are broke
“It’s no wonder our schools are broke”
Does he have any actual, verifiable, skills as an educator? It is any wonder that our public schools are turning out veritable hordes of illiterate, innumerate, functional (and barely functioning) morons? I drove to a local pizza joint to pick up a take-out order yesterday. The guy in line ahead of me paid cash, and was due $4.87 in change. I watched the ~17 yo cashier struggle to count the $1 bills and coins in his hand, making four attempts, frowning and moving his lips all the while. After several minutes of this, he shoved the pile across the counter to the customer, saying, “This should be right”. It had taken this same employee three tries to repeat our simple order back to my wife correctly when she had placed it… Message to those who support teachers, teachers’ unions, and public education in general take note: to a great extent, idiots like that cashier are going to determine your future. You should be very afraid…
And you’re proof.
Go back to your fentanyl, and this time, please take enough to fatally overdose and spare the rest of us your inane, repetitive stupidity. .
It would be interesting to know if he is a member of the teacher’s Union and, if so, what is the Union’s position on the charges, especially the gun charges, against him.
Good question.
OVERstayed his STUDENT visa for 26 years!
If were a parent in this district I would be furious. It is a breach of trust.
Secondly, where are the Republicans standing strongly and united for the rule of law? Why aren’t they grasping the reasons Trump won and getting firmly behind him in front of media? Republicans are losing the narrative battle.
*. FINALLY, Someone mentions this man is with children. Good going, granny!
Illegal handgun. Arrest him or deport!!
McBurney is correct, it is an absolute disgrace an illegal alien was ever allowed to hold that job which I’m sure many US citizens were highly capable of filling
” it is an absolute disgrace an illegal alien was ever allowed to hold that job which I’m sure many US citizens were highly capable of filling”
I don’t know about that. Considering that the teachers’ unions, aided and abetted by public school district officials, seem to believe that the role of teachers and public schools is to turn out total incompetents, he may have been perfectly suited to the job.
Totally unforgivable. That’s why we need to hold people accountable, like that slumlord of Bedminster golf club who knowingly hired numerous illegals for many years, you know about it.
Democrats preached, “No one is above the law.” Now they claim the opposite. Similarly, they used to celebrate and impose censorship and cancel culture, but now (supposedly) they defend Free Speech. Democrats have no consistent principles except invite full language and name-calling.
You can’t hate Democrats enough.