Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts speaks during the Standing Up For Public Education Rally at Goodrell Middle School on May 1, 2025, in Des Moines.

DES MOINES — The superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district, who was detained by immigration authorities last week, is resigning as he faces a federal case for his deportation, his attorneys announced on Sept. 30.

Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts, 54, will be leaving his post effective immediately, his lead attorney Alfredo Parrish said at a news conference. The announcement comes after Roberts was placed on unpaid leave and had his administrator's license revoked by state officials over the weekend.

In a letter provided to the media, Parrish wrote on Roberts' behalf that Roberts "does not want to distract" the district from its educational mission as he tries to stave off deportation. During the news conference outside his Des Moines offices, Parrish said his team had been speaking with Roberts all morning on what he called a "very complex case."

"He understands that he has the community’s support, and it really gives him inspiration," Parrish said. "His spirits are high."

Roberts, a Guyana native and longtime U.S. resident, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Sept. 26 after he allegedly fled from police after a traffic stop in Des Moines. Federal authorities accused Roberts of not having legal authorization to live or work in the United States.

Parrish said his team is still gathering facts about Roberts' immigration status and working to reopen his immigration case. He noted that many details of the case are still unclear and cautioned the community, including those planning protests on Roberts' behalf in the coming days, not to "get ahead of your skis."

What's next in the immigration case?

Roberts, who was hired as the Des Moines Public Schools superintendent in May 2023, was detained in connection with a previously unreported final order of removal an immigration judge issued in May 2024. He is currently being held at the Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City, about 150 miles northwest of Des Moines.

Parrish said Roberts' lawyers have filed a motion to stay his deportation and will file another motion to reopen his immigration case in the coming days.

Legal experts have said Roberts faces long odds to reverse his deportation order, in part because of a weapon charge and allegedly having a loaded gun in his vehicle when he fled from ICE agents on Sept 26.

Unlike other types of federal court proceedings, immigration courts operate largely out of the public eye, with many types of information considered confidential by law. Parrish said he and his team still do not have a full picture of Roberts' cases.

Lawyer points finger at former immigration attorney

Both the Des Moines School District and U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican representing Des Moines, said they had obtained copies of the "final order of removal" issued to Roberts in 2024. The Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, has reviewed a redacted copy of the order.

Parrish provided copies of a letter to Roberts dated March 27, 2025, from Texas immigration attorney Jackeline Gonzalez. In it, she states that she represented Roberts and that his immigration case had been closed, adding, "I am pleased to report that your case has reached a successful resolution."

Fox News and other news outlets have reported that in April 2025, a month after the Gonzalez letter, an immigration judge in Dallas declined to reopen Roberts' case in absentia.

Reached for comment, Gonzalez told the Register she could not respond without speaking to Roberts' current lawyers, citing attorney-client privilege.

Lawyer addresses gun, flight allegations

Bringing a gun onto school property is a violation of district policy and potential grounds for termination. When asked about the loaded handgun reportedly found in Roberts' district-provided vehicle on Sept. 26, Parrish said he is still gathering information about what happened.

But Parrish said that decades ago, Roberts served in the Guyanese military and police in operations against drug traffickers, and that "he was the target on some occasions to be taken out by the cartels."

Regarding the allegations that Roberts sped away from ICE agents, abandoned his vehicle, and fled on foot, Parrish again said he didn't know all the facts. He suggested that Roberts, who is Black, may have been concerned for his safety.

"I mean, you guys are smart reporters. I don't have to share with you those stories," he said. "I'm not saying that's the reason, but he's from Guyana, he's in the United States, and he gets stopped."

2020 arrest circumstances unclear

During his hiring process, Roberts had disclosed a 2021 citation from Pennsylvania for placing a loaded gun in his car during a hunting trip. He was fined $100.

After his arrest, Department of Homeland Security officials cited "existing weapon possession charges" from Feb. 4, 2020, stemming from an arrest by "Port Authority police." District officials said they had no knowledge of any such case.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told the Register that records of Roberts' case have been sealed by New York state courts.

Asked about that case, Parrish said he and his team are still trying to learn the facts, and so far have only been able to obtain fragmentary docket records.

'We've not seen the president's fingerprints'

Since President Donald Trump took office in January, federal immigration authorities have been widely criticized for their tactics, including protests in response to the recent violent arrest of an Iowa City man. Parrish, though, said he has not seen evidence that Roberts' arrest is due to the new administration's hostility to undocumented immigrants.

"Have we seen the president's fingerprints on this case? At this point, we have not. We may see that it's possible, but we've not seen the president's fingerprints on this case," he said. "This is a case that's been juggling through the system for a number of years."

Justice Department investigating Des Moines schools' hiring practices

Des Moines school district officials said they hired a firm to check Roberts' background before hiring him and believed he was a U.S. citizen. Several elected officials have criticized the district for failing to accurately ascertain his immigration status.

On Sept. 30, the U.S. Department of Justice said it was opening an investigation into the district's hiring practices.

Sen. Chuck Grassley seeks answers on Ian Roberts' case

Separately, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said in a news release he had sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem seeking more information about Roberts' case, including:

  • His complete criminal and immigration history.
  • Which work authorization documents, if any, he provided to Des Moines schools.
  • A general overview of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement typically conducts a “Form I-9 Inspection/Audit” of employers.
  • Whether ICE has conducted such an audit or inspection at Des Moines public schools in the past six years.
  • Whether the district participates in the federal E-Verify program to check work eligibility, and, if not, whether it would have prevented Roberts from being hired.

Grassley said he wants the information by "no later than" Oct. 3.

School spokesperson: Superintendent did not receive doctoral degree

Roberts has long stated that he received a doctoral degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore. But a university spokesperson told the Register on Sept. 29 that Roberts did not obtain a degree from the school, despite attending Morgan State from the fall of 2002 through the spring of 2007.

A spokesperson for the school, who did not provide their name, wrote in an email that Roberts pursued a doctorate in urban educational leadership.

Roberts has claimed several times that he "completed" the doctoral degree program at Morgan State, including in a 2009 self-published book, "Prisoners or Presidents: The Simple Things That Change Everything; When Principals Lead Like Lives Depend on It." Des Moines Public Schools used similar language in a November 2024 article on its website about Roberts' induction into the Coppin State University athletics hall of fame.

A Coppin State spokesperson confirmed to the Register on Sept. 29 that Roberts graduated from the Baltimore school in 1998. According to an article about Roberts on the school's website, he studied criminology. A St. John's University spokesperson confirmed that Roberts received a master's degree in social studies from that school in 2000.

Spokespeople for Harvard, Georgetown, and MIT did not respond to messages seeking comment on Roberts' academic credentials from those schools.

Roberts was registered to vote in Maryland but did not vote

Meanwhile, the Maryland State Board of Elections provided the Register with records on Sept. 30, showing that Roberts registered to vote in the state. A voter profile for Roberts shows that the state created a voter record for him in January 2012.

Another document provided to the Register shows Roberts also registered to vote in Maryland in December 2016, signing a section that affirmed he was a U.S. citizen "under penalty of perjury." Despite the registration, Roberts never voted in the state, a board of elections spokesperson said.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said Sept. 30 that a "preliminary review does not show him as voting or being a voter in Iowa."

Hundreds of students protest arrest, crackdown on illegal immigration

Meanwhile, hundreds of students from Des Moines Public Schools marched out of their classrooms on Sept. 30 in protest of Roberts' arrest and federal authorities' crackdown on illegal immigration.

Walkouts had spanned all five Des Moines high schools and Central Campus. By the afternoon, residents and students converged at the front steps of the Iowa State Capitol after school to continue the peaceful protest with speeches.

Protest organizer Ivy Wishman, a senior at North High School, said apart from showing support for Roberts, she and her peers want school officials to protect students, particularly those who are undocumented. Malika Hollis, a sophomore at Central Campus, said she joined the walkout to support Roberts and call attention to broader immigration enforcement.

"In general, how the situation is being handled is really bad, and I think a lot of misinformation has been put out," Hollis said. "Even regardless of his legal status, there’s a better way to be doing this, and it’s not how it’s been done. Invoking fear into communities without legal due process, letting ICE kind of do what they want — it puts out stigma and doesn’t make people feel safe."

Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY; Virginia Barreda F., Amanda Tugade, and Nick El Hajj, Des Moines Register

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines superintendent arrested by ICE resigns from his position, attorney says

Reporting by William Morris and Tyler Jett, USA TODAY NETWORK / Des Moines Register

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