The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested of Ian Andre Roberts, a school superintendent for Des Moines Public Schools, who the agency said was issued a final order of removal under the Biden administration.
In a press release, DHS stated that Roberts was identified and approached on Friday by ICE Des Moines agents, but that after the agents stated their identities, “he sped away.”
Following a search that DHS said included Iowa State Patrol, authorities said they found his vehicle abandoned, and that they recovered a loaded handgun. After Roberts was arrested, DHS said a fixed-blade hunting knife was additionally recovered.
“This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” said an ICE official. “This 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.”
The official also noted that Roberts (pictured above) was charged with a gun crime in 2020, when he appeared to have been working as a superintendent for the Millcreek Township School District in Erie, Pennsylvania.
During the same year, Fox News reported that Roberts’ employment authorization card had expired, leaving him unable to legally work in the United States.
The official added, “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.”
A school official described the potential impact of Roberts’ arrest on students during a press conference held on Friday.
“Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined over two years ago,” said chair Jackie Norris. “During his time with our district, he has shown up in ways big and small, and has advocated for students and staff and begun introducing concepts that will help us reimagine education for future generations of Des Moines students.”
Roberts appears to have maintained an account on the social networking website LinkedIn, where he claimed to have worked in education for more than 20 years.
Prior to working for the Des Moines School District, Roberts held similar roles in Pennsylvania, California, Missouri, and Washington, D.C., while he claims to have previously been a teacher in New York and later a principal in Maryland.
Roberts’ LinkedIn profile offers a similarly thorough listing of his purported academic achievements, claiming he studied at Georgetown University, Morgan State University, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), St. John’s University, Coppin State University, and Trident University International.
The longtime public education employee was issued a final order of removal after being tried in absentia in May 2024, according to DHS. He reportedly filed a motion in April 2025, seeking to reopen the immigration case, but was denied by a judge.
DHS announced earlier this month that more than 2 million illegal immigrants have left the country since President Donald Trump reentered the White House in January, including 400,000 who were deported and 1.6 million who left voluntarily.
According to DHS, Roberts was born in Guyana.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
So, how did Iowa hire a person to tun a school system, and NOT know that he was a citizen of this country? How did they not know that he was no longer here under the law? He is trying to better himself I guess, the school system is NOT doing what they were hired to do.
Here’s a DEI hire if I ever saw one. I feel bad for parents who have to send their children to public schools that hire based on DEI instead of qualifications.
How could the Des Moines school system not have known he was an illegal with a deportation order against him? I think they did know and didn’t care. People need to go to jail for that.