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The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district was living and working in the U.S. without legal documentation and has a notable criminal record, reported the Department of Homeland Security on Friday.
Ian Roberts stepped down from his role at Des Moines Public Schools after being detained by immigration officials. He was apprehended following a brief pursuit by car and is facing charges for being an undocumented immigrant in possession of firearms, according to authorities.
“Ian Andre Roberts, an undocumented immigrant with several weapons charges and a drug trafficking offense, should never have had access to work near children,” stated DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “When ICE officers detained this superintendent, he had an illegal handgun, a hunting knife, and close to $3,000 in cash on him.”
The accompanying image shows Ian Roberts, the former leader of Des Moines Public Schools, who has a lengthy criminal history as per the Department of Homeland Security, with attribution to Getty Images and ICE.
Additionally, Roberts’ immigration journey includes two visas, four denied Green Card applications, and numerous international travels, officials said. His initial entry into the U.S. was via John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York using a B-2 tourist visa.
He exited the U.S. at an unspecified time but returned before his 1996 arrest for drug possession. He re-entered the U.S. through San Francisco in 1999 on a student visa, which expired in March 2004. Roberts reportedly left and re-entered the country at least two more times on a student visa.
Roberts also filed multiple green card applications, all of which were rejected. In 2004, an immigration judge in Texas ordered him to be deported.
A motion to reopen the case was subsequently denied. Fox News Digital has reached out to the school district with questions about its hiring practices.
