Illegal immigrant superintendent nabbed by ICE helped pass policy allowing criminals to be hired in district

The illegal immigrant with a criminal record, caught running Iowa’s largest school district, championed and helped pass a policy that makes it easier for criminals to be hired in the district.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Friday arrested Ian Roberts, a Guyanese national who is in the country illegally but was nevertheless serving as the Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS). When he was hired, Roberts already had a criminal history relating to the illegal possession of a firearm, which the district knew about at the time, according to the Des Moines Register.

The district changed its hiring practices to make it even easier for this to happen again, with a new policy Roberts personally recommended and helped to get enacted.

Individuals with criminal records were previously automatically disqualified from working within the schools, but Roberts said at the time the policy change was necessary to diversify DMPS’ staff, according to the Des Moines Register.

“I believe that people are so much better than the worst thing they’ve ever done,” Roberts said at a public forum at the time. “I have overturned at least … five or six decisions around not hiring individuals based on something in their background because they have an opportunity not only for them to be redeemed, but for them to add value to the students that we are serving.”

The school board at the time also supported the decision, according to the Register.

DMPS did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

Please see the following message shared today with our Des Moines Public Schools community. pic.twitter.com/pY09WtofPc

— DM Public Schools (@DMschools) September 26, 2025

Roberts was found in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed blade hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash at the time of his arrest.

DMPS claims it went through a third-party to run a background check on Roberts and insists he supplied the necessary documentation to be declared eligible for U.S. employment. Roberts was also selected for the position through a consulting agency in 2023, and the board opted to vet him behind closed doors. The district said it was told Roberts’ “background check did not raise issues and Dr. Roberts said he was a U.S. citizen on the application.

ICE issued a final removal order for Roberts in 2024, which the school claims it was not aware of. The district said the news “came as a shock” but said that despite the “very serious” allegations made by ICE, the district would wait for “all of the facts.”

“[W]e all need to cool down the rhetoric,” DMPS said in an announcement. “We should promote true discourse and facts, not spread misinformation meant to divide us.”

Roberts was placed on administrative leave on Saturday evening.

Iowa state law requires school staff to undergo criminal background checks prior to hiring and every five years after that.

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