A superintendent in Des Moines, Iowa, has been forced to resign after he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in late September.
Ian Roberts’ attorney announced his immediate resignation as superintendent of the Des Moines Public Schools in a letter released on Tuesday, September 30.
“Out of concern for his 30,000 students, Dr. Roberts does not want to distract the Board, educators and staff from focusing on educating DMPS’s students,” the letter to the Des Moines School Board stated, according to ABC News.
Roberts, 54, was detained on September 26, with ICE claiming he is in the country illegally from Guyana. ICE added that he was working as a superintendent despite having “a final order of removal and no work authorization,” per ABC News. Additionally, ICE said that a judge gave him a “final order of removal” in May 2024.
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After he was detained, the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners said on Monday, September 29, that it revoked Roberts’ administrator license. The Des Moines School Board also voted unanimously to put Roberts on unpaid administrative leave, and they gave his attorney, Alfredo Parrish, until noon on September 30 to provide proof he is authorized to work in the U.S. If he was unable to do so, they said they would terminate him from his position.
Parrish filed a motion in immigration court in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 29 to stay the educator’s order of removal, according to ABC News.
“This is a very complex case,” Parrish said in a press briefing on September 30, per the outlet. “It’s complex, it’s difficult and there are a lot of what I would call a myriad of issues that are involved.”
Parrish went on to “encourage people, as they analysis this case, to be patient, to take it a step at a time.”
While speaking to reporters, Parrish also shared a letter previously sent from Roberts’ past attorney in Texas in March. According to ABC News, the attorney said he was told Roberts’ immigration case “has reached a successful resolution” and was closed. However, the letter did not contain any further details about the case.
When Roberts was taken into ICE custody on Friday, the department claimed he was in possession of a loaded handgun and $3,000 in cash. Parrish would not address the allegation during the press briefing, per ABC News, though he noted that Roberts was in the military in Guyana and “led some of the most difficult raids on the biggest criminals.”
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“In doing that type of work, he was a target, on some occasions, to be taken out by the cartel,” Parrish stated.
Parrish’s office plans to file a motion to reopen Roberts’ immigration case, he said during the September 30 press briefing.
Roberts first entered the United States on a student visa in 1999. He started working for the Des Moines district in July 2023, while he previously held leadership positions in other school districts around the U.S. for 20 years.
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