Officials place Des Moines schools leader on leave after his arrest by immigration agents

*This photo provided by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts on Feb. 26, 2025. (ICE via AP)*

*Des Moines, Iowa, school’s administrative offices are shown Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Scott McFetridge)*

*This photo provided by WOI Local 5 News in September 2025 shows Des Moines schools Superintendent Ian Roberts. (WOI Local 5 News via AP)*

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**DES MOINES, Iowa** — Officials placed the leader of Iowa’s largest school district, Superintendent Ian Roberts, on administrative leave Saturday, following his arrest by federal immigration agents who said he was in the country illegally.

The Des Moines school board voted unanimously to place Roberts on paid leave during a brief, three-minute special meeting. The board noted that Roberts was not currently available to carry out his duties for the district, which serves 30,000 students, and stated they would reassess his status after gathering additional information.

After the meeting, school board president Jackie Norris issued a statement calling the news of Roberts’ arrest on Friday a “jarring day” but emphasized that board members still did not have all the facts.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said agents detained Roberts because he was in the country illegally, lacked authorization to work, and was subject to a final removal order issued in 2024. ICE reported that agents stopped Roberts while he was driving a school-issued vehicle. Roberts then fled into a wooded area before being apprehended with assistance from Iowa State Patrol officers.

Roberts was held in Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City, northwest Iowa, about 150 miles from Des Moines.

“I want to be clear, no one here was aware of any citizenship or immigration issues that Dr. Roberts may have been facing,” Norris said. “The accusations ICE has made against Dr. Roberts are very serious, and we are taking them very seriously.”

Norris added that Roberts has retained a Des Moines law firm for representation. Lawyer Alfredo Parrish confirmed his firm is representing Roberts but declined to comment on the case.

Norris also noted that the district conducted a background check before hiring Roberts, which revealed no issues. Roberts had signed a form affirming he was a U.S. citizen.

A company that assisted in the 2023 superintendent search also hired another firm to perform comprehensive criminal, credit, and background checks on Roberts, which similarly showed no citizenship concerns, according to Norris.

On Saturday, the Iowa Department of Education released a statement saying Roberts had declared he was a U.S. citizen when applying for an administrator license. The department added that the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners conducted criminal history checks with state and federal authorities before issuing Roberts’ license.

The department said it is reviewing Des Moines district hiring procedures to ensure proper authorization for employees to work in the U.S.

Roberts previously stated he was born to immigrant parents from Guyana and spent much of his childhood in Brooklyn, New York. He represented Guyana as a track and field athlete in the 2000 Olympics.

ICE noted Roberts entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999.

A former senior Guyanese police official remembered Roberts as a promising middle-distance runner with potential in the police force, had he remained in Guyana. Retired assistant Guyana Police Force commissioner Paul Slowe said Roberts joined the force after completing the country’s standard military officers’ course.

“He served for a few years and then left. He was not dismissed or dishonorably discharged at all; he just moved on,” Slowe told The Associated Press. “He was a good, promising and disciplined man.”

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