Des Moines School Chief on Leave After ICE Arrest

UPDATE Sep 28, 2025 8:19 AM CDT

The Des Moines Public Schools system has placed its superintendent on paid leave after his surprise arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Friday, reports the New York Times. Ian Roberts is a native of Guyana who had claimed to be a US citizen in Iowa paperwork. "I want to be clear, no one here was aware of any citizenship or immigration issues that Dr. Roberts may have been facing," said school board chair Jackie Norris in a statement. "The accusations ICE has made against Dr. Roberts are very serious, and we are taking them very seriously."

Sep 27, 2025 7:30 AM CDT

Federal immigration agents targeted the well-liked leader of Iowa's largest school district in a traffic stop on Friday and arrested him after he fled into the woods, leaving educators and community members stunned. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts was in the country illegally and had no work authorization. Roberts, from the South American country of Guyana, was considered an ICE fugitive because he was subject to a final removal order issued in 2024, the agency said, per the AP.

ICE said it targeted Roberts for arrest by initiating a traffic stop on Friday while he was driving in his school-issued vehicle. After he fled, officers discovered his vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. He was eventually located and taken into ICE custody with the help of Iowa State Patrol officers. Roberts was brought to Woodbury County's jail Friday afternoon, per jail and ICE records. Phil Roeder, a school district spokesperson, says the district has seen "nothing that would suggest that he's not a citizen."

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The district said Friday that a third party was hired to conduct a comprehensive background check on Roberts, and that Roberts completed an I-9, which requires workers to present documents showing they're authorized to work. District officials also stated they had no knowledge of a removal order issued in 2024. Roberts, who has described himself as a longtime gun owner and hunter, was in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife when arrested, ICE said. Roberts, 54, began as superintendent of Des Moines schools in July 2023. He's the son of immigrant parents from Guyana, with a bio on the district's website noting he spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York.