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10m ago

ICE Detains Des Moines Schools Chief Under Final Removal Order

Federal officials opened a firearms inquiry after agents reported finding a loaded handgun during the arrest.

ICE said agents stopped Ian Roberts on Friday while he was driving and that he fled on foot into a nearby wooded area before being apprehended with assistance from the Iowa State Patrol. The agency said Roberts was found in possession of a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and about $3,000 in cash.
Ian Roberts speaks with the media after being named the new DMPS superintendent during a Des Moines Public Schools board meeting at Central Campus on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Des Moines.
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
Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Ian Roberts, speaks with students during lunch at North High School, in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., May 1, 2024. Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS/File photo

Overview

  • ICE says Superintendent Ian Roberts has a final removal order issued in May 2024 and no work authorization, noting he entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999.
  • Agents allege Roberts fled a targeted operation, abandoned his vehicle, and was later found with a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade knife, with the ATF investigating the firearm.
  • Des Moines Public Schools installed Associate Superintendent Matt Smith as interim superintendent and emphasized continuity of district operations.
  • The district says Roberts completed the I-9, passed background checks, and that it received no prior notice from federal authorities about the 2024 removal order.
  • Public records show a 2020 weapons charge and a 2022 guilty plea; ICE lists Roberts as a Guyana national held in western Iowa using local jail space for federal custody.