Immigration and Customs Enforcement is threatening to deport the top public school official in Des Moines, Iowa, where school leadership is “sad, outraged and helpless” after a police chase led to his arrest and detention.
Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts, 54, was arrested Friday. He is being held at Pottawattamie County Jail in ICE custody.
Roberts, who is originally from Guyana, had moved to the United States on a student visa in 1999 and lived in Brooklyn before serving as a school official in Pennsylvania. He has served as public schools superintendent for Iowa’s largest school district since July 2023.
Before a career in education, Roberts competed as a mid-distance runner for Guyana in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
He received a final removal order from an immigration judge in May 2024 and did not have legal permission to work in the country or possess a firearm, according to ICE.
Roberts fled from ICE agents Friday morning and abandoned his car in a wooded area, according to ICE. The agency said Roberts has existing weapon possession charges from February 5, 2020, and officers recovered a loaded Glock handgun, $3,000 in cash and a hunting knife when he was detained.
Sam Olson, St. Paul field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removals Operations, said Roberts’ arrest “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.”
“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.
In a brief press conference Friday, Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris said Roberts is “an integral part of our school community” who has “shown up in ways big and small and advocated for students and staff” since leading the city’s public schools two years ago.
Des Moines public schools interim superintendent Matt Smith said the community is “devastated by the news.”
“We stand firm with our community, many of whom are feeling sad, outraged and helpless,” he added.
Mazie Stilwell, director of progressive advocacy group Progress Iowa and a Des Moines public schools parent, said “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,” she 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.”
A joint statement from Iowa State Education Association President Joshua Brown and Des Moines Education Association President Anne Cross said Roberts has been a “tremendous advocate for students, families, staff and the community.”
