Overview

• ICE detained Ian Roberts on Sept. 26 under a May 2024 final removal order and reported finding a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade knife, $3,000 in cash, and an attempted evasion before the arrest.
• Iowa’s licensing board revoked Roberts’ superintendent credential, the Des Moines board moved him to unpaid leave, and his attorney submitted an immediate resignation for board consideration today.
• Roberts’ lawyer says a motion to stay was filed in Omaha immigration court and a motion to reopen is being filed, citing a March 2025 letter from a prior attorney that claimed the case had been resolved.
• The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division launched a Title VII investigation into Des Moines Public Schools over alleged discriminatory, DEI-linked hiring practices, which the district said it is reviewing.
• ATF is examining how the handgun was obtained, and district officials say Roberts attested to U.S. citizenship on his I-9 and presented a driver’s license and Social Security card reviewed by outside counsel.