Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts speaks during the Standing Up For Public Education Rally at Goodrell Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., May 1, 2025. Lily Smith/The Register/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images via REUTERS/File photo
[1/2]Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts speaks during the Standing Up For Public Education Rally at Goodrell Middle School in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., May 1, 2025. Lily Smith/The Register/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images via REUTERS/File photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) – U.S. immigration officials on Friday arrested the superintendent of the public schools system in Des Moines, Iowa, acting on what authorities said was a prior deportation order.
The superintendent, Ian Roberts, came from Guyana to the U.S. on a student visa in 1999 and was ordered deported in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. DHS said Roberts had a 2020 weapons charge but did not provide details.
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A legal representative for Roberts could not immediately be reached for comment.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has advanced a wide-ranging immigration crackdown, seeking to drive up arrests of immigration offenders and strip work permits from hundreds of thousands with legal status.
Schools have been a flashpoint over enforcement after the Republican president’s administration rolled back guidance from his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, that limited ICE actions near educational facilities. While ICE generally has not targeted schools, they have arrested parents nearby.
The immigrant population in Des Moines, a city of 214,000 people, has grown in recent years but remains slightly below the national percentage, according to U.S. Census data.
Jackie Norris, chair of the Des Moines School Board, confirmed Roberts’ arrest in a statement but said the board had no further information about the arrest or what would happen next.
“Our priority is to provide a safe, secure and outstanding education for all students and to support our students, families and employees,” she said.
DHS said Roberts was arrested carrying a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed-blade hunting knife. Immigrants in the U.S. illegally are prohibited under federal law from carrying a firearm.
The department said Roberts sped away from ICE officers on Friday and left his car near a wooded area. Iowa State Patrol assisted with locating him, DHS said.
Reporting by Ted Hesson; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Mary Milliken and Edmund Klamann
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Ted Hesson is an immigration reporter for Reuters, based in Washington, D.C. His work focuses on the policy and politics of immigration, asylum and border security. Prior to joining Reuters in 2019, Ted worked for the news outlet POLITICO, where he also covered immigration. His articles have appeared in POLITICO Magazine, The Atlantic and VICE News, among other publications. Ted holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and bachelor’s degree from Boston College.
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