Des Moines school board puts Ian Roberts on leave after ICE arrest
Des Moines Public Schools has placed Superintendent Ian Roberts, 54, on administrative leave following his arrest and detention by ICE on Sept. 26 over accusations he is in the country illegally.
The Des Moines School Board voted unanimously to put Roberts on paid leave. Associate Superintendent Matt Smith is serving as interim superintendent.
“While there is still much we don’t know, what we do know is that Dr. Roberts is currently unavailable to perform his duties as superintendent based on Iowa Code,” board member Kim Martorano said during the live-streamed meeting watched by more than 4,000 viewers.
The board called the special meeting after U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement arrested Roberts on the morning of Sept. 26, accusing him of being in the United States illegally.
In May 2024, a court issued a “final order of removal” calling for the Guyana native’s deportation, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. Roberts was arrested as part of a “targeted enforcement operation, DHS said.
DHS officials said Roberts abandoned his car and fled law enforcement on Sept. 26. He was allegedly in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 cash and a hunting knife. Agency officials called him an illegal alien and a “threat to public safety.”
Des Moines school board Chair Jackie Norris said Roberts’ arrest came as a shock to board members, who were not aware of any citizenship issues facing Roberts.
“The accusations made against Dr. Roberts are very serious, and we’re taking them very seriously,” Norris said.
Des Moines school officials say district conducted background check of Ian Roberts
Employers, including DMPS, must verify employment eligibility, district officials said. Norris confirmed that Roberts completed an I-9 eligibility verification form and submitted all required documentation when he was hired as superintendent.
“Everything the district has on file indicates that Dr. Roberts affirmed that he was a citizen who was eligible to work in the school district,” Norris said.
The Iowa Department of Education granted Roberts his superintendent license in 2023, opening the way for his hiring. The agency reported no issues were flagged during an FBI criminal background check on Roberts, Norris said.
A closer look at Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts
Dr. Ian Roberts took over as the Des Moines Public Schools superintendent in July 2023.
“I also want to be clear about one fact that can not be ignored,” Norris said. “Of course, the school district ensured that a background check was conducted before hiring Dr. Roberts. That is done for every person who is hired by the district, and periodic reviews are conducted on a regular basis for all current employees.”
Norris said in December 2022, Des Moines Public Schools approved a contract with JG Consulting to search for superintendent candidates. From January to March of 2023, the school board worked with the consulting firm to determine the qualifications of candidates fit for the position, Norris said.
The Des Moines school board conducted interviews with candidates for the role April 11-13, 2023. The school board approved the first contract for Roberts’ hiring on May 16, 2023, with him starting as superintendent on July 1, 2023.
The contract with JG Consulting included comprehensive criminal, credit and background checks conducted by a third-party, Baker-Eubanks. It found nothing questionable on Roberts’ citizenship or immigration, Norris said.
Iowa awarded Roberts a superintendent license on July 11, 2023. He arrived at DMPS on the heels of a 20-year education career, with experience as a school leader in Pennsylvania; Missouri; Maryland; Washington, D.C.; and New York, Norris said.
Norris asked the public to “cool down the rhetoric” around Roberts’ arrest, which has made national news. Republican state lawmakers have launched a probe of Des Moines’ hiring practices, with one lawmaker calling on the entire school board to resign.
“Our elected officials need to behave like role models for our children,” Norris said. “Enough with the name-calling and misinformation that is meant to divide us. We are talking about human beings. Our kids are watching. They are online 24/7 on social media and phones, and what they see right now is likely very difficult for them to process.”
The upheaval in the district comes just weeks after the school board approved placing a $265 million general obligation bond on the Nov. 4 ballot.
If the bond passes with the needed 60% of votes, the funds would be used to cover most of the construction and renovation costs for the Des Moines schools’ Reimagining Education, Reinvigorating Schools plan over five years. The costs include building a new elementary school.
Ian Roberts’ hiring seen as historic by some residents
Roberts’ 2023 hiring was met with much fanfare in part because he was the first person of color to lead Iowa’s largest and most diverse school district in its more than 100-year history.
Roberts — the Des Moines district’s 15th superintendent — previously served as the Millcreek Township School District superintendent in Pennsylvania.
Gov. Kim Reynolds called Roberts’ arrest by ICE “shocking, particularly his attempt to evade authorities, and the loaded gun, knife and large sum of cash found in his vehicle,” in a Sept. 27 news release.
Reynolds did not comment on the details of the case.
“But I want to be clear: we are a nation of laws that must be enforced,” she said. “Those who believe immigration laws are optional are dangerously wrong. When laws are ignored, or when people are led to believe there will be no consequences, our communities are at risk. Iowans won’t stand for that. We must enforce the law, every time, to protect our families and our future.”
Roberts’ supporters turned out in force, with hundreds of community members protesting outside the Neal Smith Federal Building on Sept. 26 after news of his arrest and detention.
Chants of “Free Dr. Roberts” and cars honking in solidarity with the protestors filled the air during the two-hour demonstration.
“When they do something like this, it really does send a message to our community and to our students and to our families, and I honestly think that this is mostly a tactic by higher people in government to make our community not safe, so I really want our students and our community to know that we are here with them, just like they are for Dr. Roberts,” said Angie McKinley, a 27-year-old Des Moines Public Schools teacher, who attended the event.
In a Des Moines Register interview ahead of his official July 1, 2023, start date, Roberts said his leadership would be “anchored in empathy.”
That message resurfaced Friday when Norris addressed reporters during a district news conference.
“(I)t seems fitting to take a page out of Dr. Roberts’ book and ask the community to engage in radical empathy as we work through the situation together,” Norris said. “Radical empathy is the recognition that we can disagree and still empathize with each other, the respect of others, humanity. This concept will be essential as we wait to learn more.”
District spokesperson witnesses arrest over cell phone
At 8:56 a.m. Sept. 26, Des Moines Public Schools spokesperson Phil Roeder was heading over to Windsor Elementary School for its field day when a text from Roberts came through.
Roberts’ message stated he had an emergency and would not be able to participate in the school’s fun run.
“I just replied and said ‘“’That’s fine. I’ll let the school know. I hope everything’s OK. Talk to you later,’” he recounted.
At 9:46 a.m., Roeder received a FaceTime call from Roberts, which he said was unusual occurrence coupled with Roberts’ emergency text earlier.
For 21 seconds, Roeder said he watched as Roberts — dressed for work — stood with his hands behind his back, surrounded by several law enforcement officers, including one with a state trooper cap on and another officer carrying a “long gun.”
For several seconds, the long-time DMPS employee said he struggled to understand what he was seeing.
“I wasn’t sure who made the call or who had the phone,” Roeder said.
“Finally, I’m like ‘Dr. Roberts, can you hear me? Are you OK?’” he recounted. “But the call ended very quickly. It was good, however, that call was made. It was good, I think, that I got it.”
Roeder alerted the district’s public safety director about what he saw. Without the call, the district might have waited hours before it knew something was wrong, he said.
Questions being raised about Roberts’ status
In the more than 24 hours since Roberts’ arrest, questions are being raised about how the superintendent portrayed his citizenship status, academic record and other achievements.
School officials and the Iowa Department of Education have both said Roberts indicated on forms he was an American citizen and had passed several background checks.
“I think, it’s safe to say that we’ll be looking at everything that we have in (Roberts’) personnel file,” Roeder said.
Asked how a situation such as the one the district has found itself embroiled in can happen, Roeder responded quietly, “No idea.”
(This story was updated because of an inaccuracy.)
Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or [email protected]. Follow her on X at @svhernandez, Bluesky at @svhernandez.bsky.social or at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.
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