Photo: Des Moines Public Schools
Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts has reportedly been detained by ICE.
In a letter to the DMPS community, School Board President Jackie Norris says they have no confirmed information on why Roberts was detained or the next potential steps.
He's been the Superintendent for Des Moines Schools since July 2023.
Associate superintendent Matt Smith has been appointed to the role of interim superintendent in the meantime.
According to the ICE website, Roberts is in custody in the Pottawattamie County Jail in Council Bluffs.
In a statement, the Iowa Department of Public Safety says:
At approximately 8:45 a.m. this morning, the Iowa Department of Public Safety received a mutual aid request to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in locating an individual who fled from a traffic stop initiated by their agents. Iowa State Patrol Troopers and Special Agents responded to the area and assisted in locating the subject, later identified as Ian Roberts. Roberts is in the custody of immigration authorities. Further inquiries should be directed to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security also provided a statement, saying:
Today, ICE Des Moines arrested Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien from Guyana in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife. At the time of his arrest, Roberts was working as the Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools despite being an illegal alien with a final order of removal and no work authorization. During a targeted enforcement operation on Sept. 26, 2025, officers approached Roberts in his vehicle after identifying himself, but he sped away. Officers later discovered his vehicle abandoned near a wooded area. State Patrol assisted in locating the subject and he was taken into ICE custody. Roberts has existing weapon possession charges from February 5, 2020. Roberts entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May of 2024. The investigation into how Roberts acquired the handgun is being turned over to the ATF. It is a violation of federal law for those in the U.S. without legal status to possess a firearm and ammunition