Des Moines – The former supervisor of Iowa’s largest school district, who was detained by immigration agents last week, was charged in federal court with possession of a firearm while in the United States without legal approval, prosecutors said Oct. 2.
Ian Roberts, who resigned as Des Moines Public Schools superintendent earlier this week, was taken into custody by US immigrants and customs enforcement agents on September 26th, when he was handed over and allegedly fled from police. Federal authorities accused Roberts, 54, of no legal approval to reside or work in the United States.
During the arrest, federal agents found a handgun loaded with a towel inside the vehicle that Roberts was driving, criminal charges alleged. Law enforcement also executed a search warrant at Roberts’ home, finding three other firearms and multiple firearm magazines, according to the complaint.
The Department of Homeland Security previously referred Roberts to the Bureau of Alcohol, cigarettes, firearms and explosives.
Roberts was being subjected to immigration authorities’ deportation at the Woodbury County Jail in Sioux, about 150 miles northwest of Des Moines. However, on October 2nd, Roberts was taken away from prison by the Department of Justice on a federal warrant for his arrest.
He appeared in the first court on Oct. 2, the US Lawyer’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa said in a news release. Roberts will remain federal custody waiting for further proceedings.
Former Des Moynes school principal received an order to expel him in 2024
Roberts, who was hired at a public school in Des Moines in 2023, received a previously unreported deportation order in 2024. He was originally from Guyana, South America, and moved to the United States to study and play university sports.
In 1999, the federal government granted Roberts a student visa. Between 2001 and 2018, Roberts failed to become a permanent US resident, according to new criminal charges.
Federal authorities alleged in the complaint that Roberts was not qualified to work in the United States when he took on the district’s top job. Roberts’ work approval in the United States expired more than two years before he became Des Moines’ principal in 2020, according to the complaint.
In May 2024, Roberts did not appear in Dallas Immigration Court for a hearing on a potential deportation. The judge then ordered Roberts to return to Guyana.
Roberts’ lawyers say they are trying to suspend his deportation and resume his case. Attorney Alfredo Parrish told Des Moines Register, part of the USA Today Network on October 2 that his legal team is still working with state and federal agencies to protect Roberts’ interests and “take this step at a time.”
“I can’t say I didn’t know that this could happen, but I’d obviously want to see if we can reach a solution,” he said of the complaint.
ICE agents found the order of removal of documents in the inspector’s vehicle, the complaint revealed.
While searching Roberts’ home on September 26th, officers allegedly found a copy of the May 2024 deportation order in another vehicle in his garage.
Defending his client at a September 30 press conference, Parish said he believes Roberts is permitted to live and work in the United States. Parrish also shared a letter from Jackyline Gonzaertz, a Texas immigration lawyer who previously represented Roberts.
“I am writing to inform you of the closure of your immigration case,” Gonzalez wrote in a letter dated March 27th this year. “It was my joy to represent you through this process. I am happy to report that your case has reached a successful resolution.”
Despite Gonzalez’s announcement of a “successful resolution,” an immigration judge denied Roberts’ claim to resume the lawsuit in April.
Following Parish’s press conference, ATF special agent Robert Carlson wrote a complaint that he had called Gonzalez. He provided a November 2024 letter where he told Roberts that he told her he owed her company about $11,800 unpaid bill.
She filed a motion to withdraw as Roberts’ attorney in January, but the judge did not control her request before denying an allegation to resume Roberts’ lawsuit. Regarding Gonzalez’s letter, Carlson wrote in a complaint that “he is not intended to tell Roberts that his immigration case with the Immigration Court has been completed, but is rather closed in her office.”
Des Moines Public Schools are considering possible legal actions
Since Roberts’ first arrest, officials at the Des Moines school said they believe he is a US citizen. They said Roberts completed the I-9 form. This is a document that employers must use to verify employee permission to work in the United States.
District spokesman Phil Lauder said in an email on October 2 that Roberts gave the district a copy of his driver’s license and Social Security card before the school board hired him in May 2023.
The School Board said in a news release on October 2 that it would discuss possible litigation related to Roberts’ background arrests and subsequent revelation during the special session on October 3.
“Des Moines Public Schools face a different reality than last Friday,” said school board chair Jackie Norris. “As a learning institution, we will use this opportunity to review the latest supervisory recruitment process and retain accountants who have contributed to this current situation.”
“From misrepresenting his citizenship status to a nonexistent degree, it appears that Ian Roberts misinterpreted people not only about Des Moines here, but also about the paths that extend from Pennsylvania and across the country,” Norris said. “Whether between legal action and thorough internal review, we vow to find the truth and that this will never happen again.”
Contributed by: Samantha Hernandez, registered with Des Moines. Thao Nguyen, USA Today
