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Tag: Ian Roberts

  • Former Iowa Superintendent To Plead Guilty For Citizenship Fraud

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district is expected to plead guilty Thursday in federal court to charges that he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen and illegally possessed firearms, a plea agreement shows.

    Ian Roberts had a two-decade long career as an educator and school administrator in districts across the U.S. before becoming superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, a district of 30,000 kids where he was beloved for his charismatic and exuberant leadership style.

    Just weeks into the school year, Roberts’ Sep. 26 arrest in a targeted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation stunned community members and attracted national attention.

    A native of Guyana in South America, Roberts initially pleaded not guilty to the two charges, which together carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Roberts is expected to plead guilty to both charges, according to a plea agreement signed by Roberts and released Wednesday.

    The plea agreement also indicates that Roberts is aware he could face deportation after he serves his sentence.

    Roberts was pulled over in his school-issued Jeep Cherokee and allegedly fled from federal agents, who found the car abandoned near a wooded area and located Roberts with the help of state troopers. Authorities said they found a loaded handgun wrapped in a towel under the seat and $3,000 in cash in the car.

    A federal grand jury in October returned a two-count indictment. According to the agreement, Roberts made a “false attestation” on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Eligibility Verification form, known as an I-9, that he submitted in Des Moines, claiming he was a U.S. citizen even though authorities say he knew he lacked authorization. That carries a punishment of up to five years in prison and a fine.

    Roberts completed the I-9 form when he was hired in 2023 and submitted a Social Security card and driver’s license as verifying documents, according to the district. He also stated he was a U.S. citizen in his application to the state board of educational examiners, which issued Roberts a professional administrator license in 2023.

    Federal officials said Roberts first entered the U.S. in 1994 on a nonimmigrant visa. They said he returned in 1999 on an F-1 student visa, which was set to expire in March 2004. He was denied a green card application in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

    His next listed interaction with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was in 2018, when he ultimately obtained work authorization. Authorities said his second application for work authorization was approved, expiring in December 2020, and that he has not had work authorization since then.

    Roberts was subject to a notice to appear before an immigration judge in October 2020 and a final removal order in 2024, authorities said. District officials said they were not aware of the immigration issues.

    Alfredo Parrish, one of Roberts’ attorneys, has said his client was under the impression from a prior attorney that his immigration case was “resolved successfully.”

    Parrish did not return phone and email messages Wednesday about the change-of-plea hearing.

    Roberts also faces a federal weapons charge, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine. The indictment describes two pistols, a rifle and a shotgun found in Roberts’ possession. In addition to the one in his vehicle when he was arrested, three firearms were found during a search of Roberts’ home, authorities said.

    Roberts will agree to forfeit the weapons, according to the agreement.

    The hearing was scheduled after Roberts’ lawyers said in a court filing that they had been negotiating with federal prosecutors to reach a resolution ahead of a Jan. 28 deadline. As part of Roberts’ plea agreement, federal prosecutors said they would recommend some leniency but that the sentence is ultimately up to the judge.

    Roberts waived his right to be present at his arraignment in October, when he pleaded not guilty. A trial had been scheduled to begin in early March.

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  • Ice detains superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district

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    The superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents on Friday, prompting shock among fellow educators.

    Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Des Moines public schools (DMPS), was apprehended on Friday morning, according to the district’s board chair. “We have no confirmed information as to why Dr Roberts is being detained or the next potential steps,” said Jackie Norris in a press release on Friday. The district also named an interim superintendent.

    Roberts appears to be held at the Pottawattamie county jail, about two hours west of Des Moines, according to the Ice online detainee database. The database lists Roberts’s country of birth as Guyana.

    In a statement to the Guardian, DHS said that Roberts was arrested because he had “a final order of removal and no work authorization”.

    “During a targeted enforcement operation on Sept 26, 2025, officers approached Roberts in his vehicle after identifying himself, but he sped away. Officers later discovered his vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. State Patrol assisted in locating the subject and he was taken into ICE custody,” the agency shared in a statement. “Roberts has existing weapon possession charges from February 5, 2020. Roberts entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May of 2024.”

    Norris said a state board had granted Roberts a license to serve as superintendent in 2023 and that the district has been unable to verify Ice’s claims about his immigration status.

    In a joint statement, the presidents of unions representing teachers and other school employees in Iowa said that Roberts had been a “tremendous advocate for students, families, staff, and the community” and expressed shock at his arrest.

    “His leadership and compassion for all students, regardless of background, identity, or family origin, are a beacon of light in one of the state’s most diverse school districts,” said Joshua Brown, the Iowa State Education Association president, and Anne Cross, the Des Moines Education Association president, in a joint statement. “It is a dark and unsettling time in our country. This incident has created tremendous fear for DMPS students, families, and staff.”

    Matt Smith, a Des Moines schools official who was appointed Friday to serve as interim superintendent, said members of the community felt “sad, outraged and helpless” after learning of Roberts’s detention.

    In media interviews and biographies, Roberts has said he was raised in Brooklyn, New York, by Guyanese immigrant parents. A 2023 statement from the district announcing Roberts’s appointment said he was “born to immigrant parents from Guyana, and spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn”. In 2023, he became the first person of color to be named to the position of superintendent in Iowa’s largest school district. He is a former Olympic athlete who competed as a middle-distance runner for Guyana in the 2000 Sydney games.

    Court records in Pennsylvania show that Roberts pleaded guilty in January 2022 to a minor infraction for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and was fined. The case stemmed from a citation in Erie county issued the prior month by a Pennsylvania game commission officer, who stopped Roberts as he was finishing a day of deer hunting on state lands.

    Roberts said at the time he was a longtime licensed hunter and gun owner, and that he had left his hunting rifle on the seat of his vehicle in plain view to ensure the officer did not feel threatened during their interaction. He said that he was shocked when the officer cited him for doing so, but that he pleaded guilty to avoid any distraction. He questioned whether his dark skin may have played a role in the case.

    “I may not appear to be the ‘type of man’ who would enjoy deer season in Pennsylvania, in fact, I am and have been hunting for more than 20 years,” Roberts wrote in a social media post then.

    Earlier this year, after Donald Trump’s administration removed restrictions on Ice officers searching schools, churches and other sensitive locations, Roberts and the leaders of other regional school districts issued guidelines for parents and families enrolled in public schools.

    In a letter to parents, Roberts said that schools would comply with warrants from immigration officers, and that agents seeking information about students would be directed to administrators.

    “Everyday Des Moines Public Schools does everything we can within our legal and moral authority to support students, which is always our top priority,” he said.

    The district said it was awaiting updates on Roberts’s situation. “We know you have many questions, and we will provide updates as we learn more confirmed information. We thank you and appreciate your support,” said Norris.

    • This article was amended on 26 September 2025. An earlier version said Ian Roberts was born in Brooklyn, based on past interviews. However, a 2023 statement from the district says he was “born to immigrant parents from Guyana, and spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn”.

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