ICE arrests superintendent of Iowa's largest public school district

The superintendent of the largest public school district in Iowa was arrested Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which alleged he was in the country illegally and without a work authorization

The superintendent of the largest public school district in Iowa was arrested Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which alleged he was in the country illegally and without a work authorization.

Ian Andre Roberts, a Guyana national and superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, was arrested in an operation, ICE announced in a news release.

Roberts has helmed the district since July 2023, according to its website. It described him as a "career educator" with more than two decades of experience as a teacher, administrator and executive leader. He previously served as superintendent in two districts in Pennsylvania and Missouri.

Roberts worked as superintendent in Iowa despite not having legal status and despite having a “final order of removal and no work authorization,” the ICE news release said.

He had entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa, and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May 2024, ICE said.