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The high-profile arrest of former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts for overstaying a deportation order has reignited debate over how Iowa verifies who is eligible to work — and whether the state should require all employers to use the federal E-Verify system.

The controversy has exposed gaps in employment and licensing verification systems that critics say allowed Roberts to be hired and licensed despite allegedly lacking legal authorization to work in the U.S. It also has spurred a renewed push from some Republican leaders to tighten oversight and expand mandatory use of federal verification programs.

In response, Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday signed an executive order

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