(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) America is known as the “land of opportunity,” so much so that an illegal alien was appointed as the top education official in Des Moines, Iowa.
Ian Andre Roberts, a Guyanese national with a final deportation order, was arrested Friday while allegedly in possession of a loaded handgun and a fixed-blade hunting knife.
Roberts was the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa’s largest district, which spans more than 60 school buildings and oversees over 30,000 students.
ICE apprehended Roberts after he attempted to evade arrest during the targeted operation. He abandoned his government-issued vehicle near a wooded area, prompting intervention from the Iowa State Patrol.
School documents obtained by Headline USA show Roberts was hired at a $270,000 annual salary, which the board raised by 3.5 percent in 2024. For the 2024–25 school year, he made $305,917.
His arrest sparked condemnation on social media and in Iowa, given his high-profile government job.
The Des Moines Public School Board had unanimously appointed Roberts in May 2023 following what it called a “comprehensive national search.”
It is unclear whether the district knew of Roberts’s illegal status. ICE says he entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa and received a final order of removal from an immigration judge in May 2024—a year after his appointment.
Sam Olson, the director of ICE’s St. Paul Field Office, called the arrest a “wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats.”
He called Roberts’s hiring without work authorization, a final order of removal and a prior weapons charge “beyond comprehension.” He added that this case “should alarm the parents of that school district.”
Following Roberts’s arrest and the backlash over his appointment, Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris posted on social media: “We have no confirmed information as to why Dr. Roberts is being detained or the next potential steps.”
Please see the following message shared today with our Des Moines Public Schools community. pic.twitter.com/pY09WtofPc
— DM Public Schools (@DMschools) September 26, 2025
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said she was made aware of the situation and is in contact with the Iowa Department of Public Safety and federal authorities regarding Roberts’s arrest.
Roberts was replaced by Associate Superintendent Matt Smith pending an investigation.
