Des Moines: Leftists Protest ICE Arrest of Gun-Toting Illegal “School Superintendent” With Fake Degree and Criminal Record

Des Moines leftists take to the streets to support gun-toting illegal alien school superintendent with fake degrees arrested by ICE.

Michelle Obama’s chief of staff hired an illegal alien with a fake degree and a criminal record to be the head of the public schools in Des Moines, Iowa.

Ian Andre Roberts, a 48-year-old Guyanese national who overstayed his 1999 student visa, was arrested by ICE agents in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 26, 2025, after fleeing a traffic stop in his district vehicle. Authorities found a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade knife, and $3,000 in cash inside the abandoned car, following a K-9 search that located him hiding nearby; Roberts had a final deportation order from May 2024 and a prior 2020 weapons charge that was dismissed. The Des Moines Public Schools board placed him on paid administrative leave, amid scrutiny of their hiring process that overlooked his immigration status despite background checks.

You literally cannot make this up

The superintendent of the largest school district in Iowa is an illegal alien from Guyana who has a prior weapons charge. He reportedly fled police and had a loaded gun in his car when he was arrested.

How tf does an illegal become a school… pic.twitter.com/sckjKWdoAr

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 26, 2025

You have to hand it to the leftists in Des Moines. Former Michele Obama Chief of Staff and current candidate for US Senate, Jackie Norris, chaired the school board that hired an illegal alien with a final deportation order to lead the Des Moines public school system, despite having a criminal record. He was caught and arrested by ICE after trying to flee with a gun, a knife, and thousands of dollars in his possession. The community is so outraged that they are protesting his arrest and demanding his release.

So you mean to tell me that MICHELLE OBAMA’S chief of staff hired an illegal alien with a fake degree & a criminal record to be the head of the public schools in Des Moines, Iowa? https://t.co/jWaPcaZ4Ud

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 27, 2025

Des Moines Register: A large crowd of people came together in downtown Des Moines Friday after calling for Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts to be released. Des Moines Public Schools confirmed Friday afternoon that Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts was detained by ICE. At that time, DMPS said it had not confirmed any information as to why Roberts is being detained. Quickly following news of his detainment, an emergency protest was called for on social media and organized to be outside the Neal Smith Federal building downtown. People started showing up at 4 p.m. What started as a crowd with dozens of people quickly grew to a crowd of easily more than 200 people. Many people held signs denouncing ICE, as well as signs with statements showing their support for Roberts and for him to be set free. Children and adults showed up, and teachers took part, both from Des Moines Public Schools and some school districts in the surrounding communities. (Des Moines Register)

Is this not insane, look at the size of this crowd

These people are protesting demanding Ian Roberts, the illegal superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools who fled ICE be released

He’s an illegal making $300,000+ per year paid for by taxpayers

This protest has to be paid pic.twitter.com/yjGhrC8HIn

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) September 27, 2025

“Dr.” Roberts—his Ph.D. is from a diploma mill—was hired to focus particularly on DEI. Jackie Norris, should she be elected to the US Senate, promises to bring her excellent public policy judgment to the lawmaking process.

Iowa school superintendent arrested by ICE, facing prior weapons charges, allegedly found with loaded handgun

Ian Andre Roberts was living illegally in U.S. after his student visa expired, authorities say

By Louis Casiano , Bill Melugin, Fox News, September 26, 2025:

An Iowa school district superintendent living in the United States illegally who also faces weapons charges was arrested Friday, authorities said.

Ian Andre Roberts, who heads the Des Moines Public Schools—the largest school district in the state—was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pursued Roberts after he sped away, authorities said.

They later found his vehicle abandoned, and an Iowa State Patrol K-9 was called in to help search for him.

“After a search of the area, the subject was located in the brush approximately 200 yards south of where the vehicle was abandoned,” an ICE statement said.

Inside the vehicle, authorities found $3,000 in cash, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and a loaded Glock 19 firearm, 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,” said ICE Enforcement Removal Operations St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson. “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.”

Roberts entered the U.S. illegally from Guyana, authorities said. He last entered the country through New York on Aug. 30, 1999, on an F-1 student visa to attend St. John’s University in Queens.

Roberts was not legally authorized to work in the U.S. after his employment authorization card expired in 2020, authorities said.

Authorities said a handgun was found in a vehicle used by Ian Roberts to flee from pursuing ICE agents. (ICE)

“Subject was encountered by Port Authority PD and arrested for weapons possession charges, which are still pending,” ICE said of existing weapon possession charges from Feb. 5, 2020.

On May 22, 2024, a judge ordered that he be deported. The proceedings were held in absentia. On April 24, 2025, an immigration judge in Dallas denied a motion to reopen the case.

Roberts was hired to serve as superintendent for Des Moines Public Schools on July 1, 2023, following a nationwide search for qualified candidates. A statement announcing his hiring said he was “chosen through a comprehensive national search based on the leadership profile prepared by the Board after receiving input from staff, parents, students and community members.”

“Dr. Roberts proudly shares that he was born to immigrant parents from Guyana, and spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn, NY.,” the DMPS news release stated at the time.

Roberts worked in education in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and St. Louis.

A message from Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris said Associate Superintendent Matt Smith will serve as interim superintendent until further notice.