Guyanese school superintendent in Iowa arrested by ICE, charged with illegal firearm possession

Ian Roberts, former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent and Guyanese national, was arrested by ICE and charged with illegally possessing firearms. Four loaded weapons were found at his home.

Former Des Moines superintendent charged with illegal firearms possession after ICE arrest

Ian Roberts, 54, the recently resigned superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa, has been charged with one federal count of being an "illegal alien in possession of firearms," according to court records. Ice.gov confirmed his arrest on Friday, stating that agents found Roberts in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife and $3,000 in cash at the time of his detention.

The loaded pistol was concealed in a towel beneath the driver's seat of his vehicle, according to the federal criminal complaint. It had been purchased in Arkansas from a federally licensed dealer by a person believed to be Roberts' spouse.

A subsequent search of his residence uncovered three additional firearms: a loaded pistol under the seat cushion of a living room chair, a loaded rifle in a bedroom closet and a shotgun behind a bedroom headboard. Multiple magazines and ammunition were also recovered. All four weapons were manufactured outside of Iowa and had crossed state lines before coming into Roberts' possession, the complaint stated.

Roberts made a brief initial appearance in federal court on Thursday, during which he waived his right to a detention hearing and preliminary examination. The court ordered him detained. He had been held at the Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City following his ICE detention, before being transferred into Department of Justice custody on a federal arrest warrant, according to Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan.

Immigration history and removal order

Roberts, a native of Guyana, entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa that expired in 2004. He has no work authorization and a federal immigration judge issued a final order of removal against him in May 2024 — a hearing he did not attend. A subsequent motion by Roberts to reopen immigration proceedings was denied in April, after a judge found he had failed to demonstrate he had not received notice of the 2024 hearing.

Roberts applied for permanent residence four times — once in 2001 and three times in 2018 — but was denied on each occasion. An application for adjustment of status based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen was denied in January 2020 because he "failed to respond to a request for additional information," the complaint noted. He has not held lawful employment authorization since December 2020.

Resignation and revoked license

Roberts joined Des Moines Public Schools in July 2023 and had previously held leadership roles in school districts across the country for two decades, according to Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris. He resigned as superintendent on Tuesday — one day after the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked his administrator license and the school board voted unanimously to place him on unpaid administrative leave pending proof of work authorization.

"For all of us, this is not what we anticipated when we welcomed Dr. Ian Roberts into central Iowa and the Des Moines School District a little more than two years ago. It is a sad and troubling end for an individual who gave many people, especially our students, hope," Norris said during a special board session in which his resignation was accepted.

Norris confirmed the school board had no knowledge of Roberts' immigration status at the time of his hiring, and described the board as taking ICE's allegations "very seriously."

State investigation launched

Iowa state Representative Zach Nunn announced Tuesday that a state-level investigation into Roberts' hiring is underway. "Local leaders owe parents an explanation, and we need stronger safeguards to ensure that positions of public trust are filled by individuals who are properly vetted and legally authorized to serve," Nunn said in a statement.

Prior issues surface

One month after Roberts took up the superintendent role, he was served with a restraining order at his office in August 2023, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Department. The order had been issued by a court in Jackson County, Missouri. The identity of the person who requested it and the reasons behind it remain unknown, as the relevant court records are sealed.

A spokesperson for Des Moines Public Schools told the Des Moines Register, which first reported on the restraining order, that the school board had been unaware of it.

State elections officials in Maryland also disclosed this week that a person matching Roberts' name was registered to vote in the state, with records indicating registration as a Democrat in 2017. There is no record of a vote having been cast. The Maryland elections board declined to confirm whether the registered voter is in fact the former superintendent, noting in a statement that individual voter registration records require further verification.

ABC News reported it had reached out to Roberts' attorney for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Source: Google News GY — Crime