Ice detains superintendent of Iowa's largest school district

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Source: The Guardian



US Immigration Customs Enforcement (Ice) have detained the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district.

Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS), was detained 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, the DMPS board chair, 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 also lists Roberts’ 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”.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/26/ian-roberts-ice-detention-iowa-school-district-superintendent

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The superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools — Iowa’s largest school district – was detained Friday morning by immigration agents, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which said the educator was in the country illegally and had existing weapon possession charges.

Superintendent Ian Roberts – an educator with decades of experience who previously competed as an Olympic athlete – was arrested as part of a “targeted enforcement operation” and fled after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers approached him, according to statements from DHS and the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

DHS said he was “in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife” at the time of his arrest. It’s a violation of federal law to own a firearm and ammunition if an individual doesn’t have legal status in the US.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/26/us/ian-roberts-des-moines-superintendent-arrested-ice