State to review Des Moines schools’ hiring policies, Iowa Gov. Reynolds calls superintendent’s arrest ‘shocking’

DES MOINES — The state education department announced its plans to review the Des Moines School District’s hiring procedures a day after the district’s superintendent was arrested by federal immigration authorities.

And in her first extended statement since Friday’s arrest of Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Saturday called the incident “shocking” and said, “We must enforce the law every time to protect our families and our future.”

Roberts was arrested Friday after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiated a traffic stop of Roberts in his school-issued vehicle, the Associated Press reported.

ICE claims Roberts is living in the U.S. illegally and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May of 2024. ICE also claims Roberts fled when first contacted by officers, and when he was apprehended was in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife.

Roberts was taken to Woodbury County’s jail in northwest Iowa late Friday afternoon, according to jail and ICE records, the AP reported.

Roberts’ biography on the Des Moines schools website says Roberts “proudly shares” that he was born to immigrant parents from Guyana and spent much of his “formative years” in Brooklyn, New York.

“The arrest on Friday of Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts was shocking, particularly his attempt to evade authorities, and the loaded gun, knife, and large sum of cash found in his vehicle,” Reynolds said in a statement issued Saturday afternoon. “The investigation is still underway, so I won’t comment on details of the case at this time. But I want to be clear: we are a nation of laws that must be enforced.

“Those who believe immigration laws are optional are dangerously wrong. When laws are ignored, or when people are led to believe there will be no consequences, our communities are at risk. Iowans won’t stand for that. We must enforce the law, every time, to protect our families and our future.”

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ICE also, in a press release, reported that Roberts had existing weapon possession charges from 2020. The AP reported that court records in Pennsylvania show that Roberts pleaded guilty in January 2022 to a minor infraction for unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and was fined $100 plus court costs. The case stemmed from a citation in Erie County issued the prior month by a Pennsylvania Game Commission officer, who stopped Roberts as he was finishing a day of deer hunting on state lands, the AP reported.

The Iowa Department of Education also issued a statement Saturday afternoon, in which it said the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners conducted a criminal history check with the state Division of Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation prior to issuing a license to Roberts in 2023.

“No deviations from the established licensure process were identified,” the Iowa DOE statement said.

The state department then said it is the school district’s responsibility to affirm a person’s eligibility to work in the U.S.

Iowa DOE also said it is reviewing the Des Moines Public School District’s hiring procedures “for verifying individuals are legally authorized to work in the United States.”

The Des Moines school district said it hired a consulting business to conduct a search for a superintendent and another company conducted a background search of Roberts. The district also said Roberts completed the employment eligibility form “and submitted the required documentation.”

The district said it was not aware of a judge’s final order of removal for Roberts.

The Des Moines school board on Saturday voted to put Roberts on leave, the Des Moines Register reported.

Meantime, Iowa House Republicans have sent a letter to the Des Moines Public School District demanding that all records related to Roberts be preserved.

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“The Des Moines Public Schools may have documents and materials which may have utility in analyzing the truth, falsity or background of the Roberts Allegations,” says the letter, from House Government Oversight Committee Chairman Charley Thomson, a Republican from Charles City, “as well as the truth, falsity or background of any current or former employee of the Des Moines Public Schools who may be credibly accused of (a) being simultaneously a Des Moines Public School employee and a foreign national illegally present in the United States, or (b) being a Des Moines Public School employee and simultaneously subject to a final order of removal by an immigration judge.”

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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