Former Iowa superintendent Ian Roberts taken into DOJ custody for firearms, immigration charges

The ex-Iowa school district superintendent detained by ICE last week for being in the US illegally has been taken into custody by the Justice Department.

Ian Roberts, who originally hails from Guyana, was arrested on Sept. 26 after a brief police chase when it was revealed the educator ignored a May 2024 final removal order from the Department of Homeland Security after overstaying his 1999-issued student visa.

Roberts has now been transferred from custody in Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City and into the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Fox News reported.

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ICE agents, with assistance from local police, found Roberts in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed-blade hunting knife at the time of his arrest, according to the enforcement agency at the time.

Federal authorities now revealed Roberts was in possession of a total of four firearms, according to Fox News.

Despite not having a valid work permit, the 52-year-old led the Des Moines Public Schools — the state’s largest school district — until his shocking apprehension. 

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Roberts resigned his position last week, the Des Moines Register reported.

The Iowa state board revoked Roberts’ superintendent license following his arrest.

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“Its a sad and troubling end for an individual who gave many people, especially our students, hope,” Des Moines Public School board chair Jackie Norris told the Register.

Roberts is fighting the deportation order to his native Guyana and will remain in federal custody pending further proceedings.

Lawyers for Roberts believed, based on advice from a prior attorney in Texas, that his immigration case had been “resolved successfully,” Fox News reported.