By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Iowa’s largest school district is holding an emergency meeting Saturday night after its superintendent was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Des Moines agents.

ICE arrested Des Moines Public School Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts on Friday. A citizen of Guyana, Roberts has a criminal record and has been living in the U.S. illegally with no work authorization, ICE says. A federal immigration judge also ordered his removal from the country last year.

Roberts, “a criminal illegal alien from Guyana,” was arrested “in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers in Des Moines said.

He was working as the DMPS superintendent “despite being an illegal alien with a final order of removal and no work authorization,” ICE said.

When ICE ERO-Des Moines officers approached him, he sped away in his taxpayer-funded DMPS vehicle to evade arrest. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. Iowa State Patrol assisted with locating and arresting him. He remains in ICE custody.

Roberts first entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa. Not soon after, he was arrested on weapons charges on Feb. 5, 2020, in violation of his visa terms. A federal immigration judge issued a final order of removal in May of last year.

The ATF is investigating how Roberts acquired the handgun. “It is a violation of federal law for those in the U.S. without legal status to possess a firearm and ammunition,” ICE said.

“This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” ICE ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson said. “This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats.

“How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.”

Des Moines Public Schools is the largest school district in Iowa, serving more than 30,000 students and employing 5,000 people. Its superintendent receives a salary of $270,000, a taxpayer-funded car and cell phone allowance, contributions to a tax-sheltered annuity and retirement plan, and district health, life and long-term disability insurance.

DMPS has an affirmative action plan, which appears to emphasize hiring based on race. Its 2021 Affirmative Action plan prioritizes “diversity, inclusion, and equity” as “fundamental and essential” to the district’s success.

The plan’s stated goal is to increase hiring the number of teachers of color by specific grades and percentages. This includes increasing hiring teachers of color in kindergarten and first grade by 8%; and in second through fifth grades by 5%. It also prioritizes increased test scores of Black male third grade reading students “from 35% to 72% by June 2023, as measured by FAST” and “Black male students earning a ‘B’ or higher in Algebra 1 by the end of 9th grade will increase from 17% to 35% by August 2023.”

It also prioritizes recruiting teachers who completed a “Blue Contract,” program through Drake University’s Master of Science in Education degree in Culturally Responsive Leadership and Instruction. Courses include “culturally responsive teaching” and “equity in Mathematics.” New teachers hired through the BLUE contract receive a higher starting salary than non-BLUE contract teachers, according to the plan.

DMPS said in a statement that its board retained Texas-based JG Consulting to conduct a search for its superintendent.

In a now deleted post, the consulting firm said Roberts previously served as the superintendent of Milcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania and “previously held leadership positions in various schools across the country, including Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Saint Louis.” It also cites DMPS Board Chair Teree Caldwell-Johnson praising his selection, citing his “educational experience, academic excellence, and his passion for innovation and inspiration” and “ability to create equitable experiences for students.” He assumed his DMPS role on July 1, 2023.

DMPS also included Roberts in its “Top 100 Influencers” this year.

On Friday night, the DMPS board said Baker-Eubanks conducted a third-party comprehensive background check on Roberts and that DMPS is “required to verify employment eligibility for all employees. In this case, Dr. Roberts completed the I-9 employment eligibility verification form and submitted the required documentation.”

The board also said he “was licensed by the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners in July 2023” and it “did not have any knowledge” of his immigration status or final removal order.

In response to ICE stating a loaded gun was found in a district vehicle, it said, “DMPS policy states weapons are prohibited on school grounds or at a school sponsored or school related activity.”

The board is holding an emergency meeting Saturday evening “to take action regarding Dr. Roberts’ administrative leave status.” It also appointed an interim superintendent.