Superintendent Put On Leave Following ICE Arrest

An Iowa superintendent has been put on leave after he was arrested by ICE.

On Saturday (September 27), the Des Moines school board voted unanimously to place Superintendent Ian Roberts on paid administrative leave just one day after he was arrested by federal immigration agents who said he was in the U.S. illegally, per the Associated Press. Board members cited Roberts' unavailability to perform his duties as the reason behind the move.

An emergency board meeting was called after Roberts was detained by ICE on Friday (September 26) while driving a school-issued vehicle. According to ICE, he fled into a wooded area before being apprehended with help from Iowa State Patrol. He is currently being held at the Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City, about 150 miles from Des Moines.

ICE said Roberts entered the country on a student visa in 1999 and was subject to a final removal order issued in 2024. The agency also stated he lacked legal work authorization. Roberts has said he was born to Guyanese immigrant parents and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He represented Guyana in the 2000 Olympics in track and field.

School board president Jackie Norris called Friday “a jarring day,” but noted that the board still lacked full details.

“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 said Roberts passed a background check during his hiring process, including checks by an outside firm contracted through the superintendent search.

“He signed a form affirming he was a U.S. citizen,” she added.

The Iowa Department of Education said Roberts noted that he was a U.S. citizen when applying for his administrator license. The department, which conducted state and federal background checks, is now reviewing the district’s hiring procedures for verifying work eligibility.

Roberts is being represented by the Des Moines law firm Parrish Kruidenier.

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