View Full Version : ICE detains superintendent of Iowa’s Largest school system
iris lilies
9-27-25, 11:18pm
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/26/us/ian-roberts-des-moines-superintendent-arrested-ice
This story is huge news in the Midwest. Since I’m from Des Moines I’m following it, and there’s also a pretty strong St. Louis connection.
Dr. Ian Roberts, superintendent of the Des Moines public school system, was detained yesterday by ICE. He fled from a traffic stop and was found in the woods. He had a loaded handgun and $3000 in cash.
All information has yet to come out but these appear to be facts:
*Dr. Robert’s’ immigration status is in question, even though he represented himself as a citizen to the Des Moines Public schools board when they hired him.
* He caught a gun charge a few years ago, but that appears to be a fairly innocuous situation Where his hunting gun was loaded while it was in the car with him.
* He seems to be very much liked by the Des Moines community
* He worked for three years in St. Louis in a school administrative position,
* He worked in the Millcreek School system in Pennsylvania before coming to Des Moines. There he had a five-year contract, but he left two years into his contract. There are reports of three charges against him by employees
I’m fascinated about how this is going to shake out
iris lilies
9-27-25, 11:27pm
Let me just add that my hard heart softened towards him when I learned he was a deer hunter. I hate deer and I wish they would die
They are literally disappearing people now.
From what I've read so far it appears that he entered the USA on a student visa in 1999 and simply stayed. He had no work authorization and received a deportation order from an immigration judge nearly 1.5 years ago.
Sounds to me like he had a pretty good run before running into consequences.
iris lilies
9-28-25, 12:01am
Yes, the deportation order took place during Joe Biden‘s tenure in the White House, May 2024.
This is an interesting article:
Help Rodney Taylor, a Disabled Double Amputee Being Held by ICE (https://www.disabledginger.com/p/help-rodney-taylor-a-disabled-double)
iris lilies
9-28-25, 8:48pm
Starting tomorrow I hope we’re going to get some specifics about Dr. Roberts’ immigration status. You know the Internet, gossip and innuendo abound and speculation is presented as fact, etc., but there’s someone doing deep dives and showing documents as her sources and those are revealing some basic questions Dr. Roberts needs to answer.
His birth year appears three different years quite far apart from 1970 to 1978. One of those is a court record so certainly that can be wrong, but he himself is the source for the other two although perhaps his words were misrepresented.
Also in two different interviews, he listed his birthplace once as in this country and once as outside of this country. So maybe he was misquoted then as well, hmmm.
littlebittybobby
9-28-25, 8:56pm
okay---sounz like da bro dindu nuffin; dey jes detained him for DWB. The gun and cash were a plant. He's jus' a Patsy.
More details may come out once the gossip dies down. I'm getting the impression he completed an I-9 for employment authorization and went through a background check, but may have lied on the forms. Seems like the hunting gear in his vehicle classified him as some sort of potential danger to society, besides possibly being here illegally
Too many conflicting details at the moment from different sources, best to wait for the dust to settle.
However, in today's world, I'm not sure the accurate details will surface before the news/outrage cycle has moved on.
iris lilies
9-29-25, 8:21am
More details may come out once the gossip dies down. I'm getting the impression he completed an I-9 for employment authorization and went through a background check, but may have lied on the forms. Seems like the hunting gear in his vehicle classified him as some sort of potential danger to society, besides possibly being here illegally
There are multiple gun issues.
Dr. Roberts has a nothing burger citation from a game warden about transporting his loaded hunting rifle in his car in the state of Pennsylvania a few years ago.
There is the statement from ICE about a criminal gun charge against Roberts which could refer to the nothing burger or might be another gun charge of which there is some indication at this time.
And finally, there is the loaded handgun two days ago ICE picked up along with him. In Iowa this is not a problem except in certain circumstances. If he doesnt have a legal status ( Visa, green card, etc) he is not supposed to have a gun. And then there are the complicated laws about guns on school property which I won’t even attempt to summarize except to say it’s a new law allowing teachers to have guns and a school system may opt out of it but unclear where Des Moines public schools is on this issue.
So that’s just the guns but there are other questions popping up about some of the claims he has made on his résumé, None of it matters much unless he really has lied on his i-9 form form about his citizenship status.
I guess we'll see. What evidence may arise, he just doesn't seem like the sort who should have a higher level position in the education system, but that's without more facts. He apparently has had multiple jobs in educatin and you'd think there would heve been multiple background checks.
iris lilies
9-29-25, 2:22pm
I guess we'll see. What evidence may arise, he just doesn't seem like the sort who should have a higher level position in the education system, but that's without more facts. He apparently has had multiple jobs in educatin and you'd think there would heve been multiple background checks.
I do not mean this in a snarky way, exactly, but he is exactly the kind of person who achieves great success in that mileau so the only potential disqualification I see is if he lied about any of his credentials and status. The gun stuff may not be notable.
For that kind of environment, he is a rock star. He seems to be an inspirational leader with great rapport with kids and the community, and with his distinctive athletic background, his colorful ways of dress and his slightly foreign accent, he stands out.
The President of the Des Moines school Board was Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff in the White House. I think we can identify her politics and imagine her giddy joy when she hired the first Black Superintendent of schools for the Des Moines Public schools.
A big boon for her politically, and now she is running for U.S. Senate. ‘Tho now people have questions.
hmmm….this is such a compelling soap opera, I love it!
Well, on the shady side, he had a previous firearms charge, fled ICE agents in some sort of vehicle chase, abandoned his car in the woods, had a loaded handgun in the car, and had a final order for his deportation in 2024. Of course we don't know all the facts and how correct the reports are. I imagine it is like ICE to paint every one they try to deport as some sort of legal monster, so the reports may be incorrect, so far.
Of course we don't know all the facts and how correct the reports are. I imagine it is like ICE to paint every one they try to deport as some sort of legal monster, so the reports may be incorrect, so far.
I don't think whatever ICE may be currently saying about this issue has any bearing on anything. This fellow's future was shaped by an Immigration Court in May of 2024 based upon a culmination of facts brought to the court's attention at that time. Considering that there are now millions of people in the country illegally, it just has taken the enforcement arm of that court ordered action a little time to get around to him.
The real story here is how in the world this guy achieved the level of success he attained despite not being legally able to work in this country as an illegal alien.
I don't think whatever ICE may be currently saying about this issue has any bearing on anything. This fellow's future was shaped by an Immigration Court in May of 2024 based upon a culmination of facts brought to the court's attention at that time. Considering that there are now millions of people in the country illegally, it just has taken the enforcement arm of that court ordered action a little time to get around to him.
The real story here is how in the world this guy achieved the level of success he attained despite not being legally able to work in this country as an illegal alien.
I detect an assumption of guilt.
My best guess is that there are a lot of immigrants that are here illegally, but have raised families with decent kids in public schools, have responsible jobs, maybe even medical doctors or in medical schools, pay taxes but have "slipped through the cracks" for years, decades, and generations, but are now in the spotlight of ICE for minor or unproven offenses. Sometimes what's legal and what's right are not the same.
I detect an assumption of guilt.
I think that was determined through due process in an immigration court some time ago.
iris lilies
9-29-25, 5:12pm
A few hours ago it was announced the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners yesterday revoked Dr. Roberts’s license. He can no longer teach or act as administrator in Iowa schools.They aren’t goofing around! Seems like they are taking ICE charges at face value.
The dominoes are falling…
Meanwhile, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Jackie Norris is silent about Roberts’ immigration status and she was primarily responsible for her School Board’s decision PAY HIM while on administrative leave. His salary is just short of $300,000 annually.
edited to add: to be fair, I just learned that the Des Moines school board will probably rescind the paid status of Dr. Roberts’ administrative leave because by law cannot pay him when he no longer holds a license.
I think that was determined through due process in an immigration court some time ago.
I wonder if he will be given a chance to offer a defense, or if it's just so long, see you in Guyana (or El Salvador) like many other criminals who have been here illegally. It's not looking good for Dr. Roberts, contrary to the Beetles song. I suspect a man of his credentials, assuming they are real, could be a boon to Guyana.
On the subject of presumption of guilt and due process of law, I wonder what ever happened to the case of Tom Homan being filmed taking a bag of $50K cash from an FBI agent as some sort of bribe. That sure dropped out of the news quickly with what appeared to be a preponderance of evidence.
The real story here is how in the world this guy achieved the level of success he attained despite not being legally able to work in this country as an illegal alien.
This is puzzling to me. When we hire a new firefighter, EMT, paramedic, or even admin person in my department, we perform a background check, check references, verify provided documents, and require a valid form I9(*). I did a stint as a substitute teacher at the public school here, and had to go through a similar process. Heck, just to be a 4H volunteer, I had to go through most of these hoops.
(*) We don’t require that you be a citizen, but you do have to be a permanent resident with proper documentation. We have several Canadians in our department, who apparently rowed over here from their island one day. One of my backup plans is to row over to *their* island and take a job in fire/EMS, which would get me a fast-track visa, if need be. I can see where I’d be working just through my window, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
iris lilies
9-29-25, 10:17pm
This is puzzling to me. When we hire a new firefighter, EMT, paramedic, or even admin person in my department, we perform a background check, check references, verify provided documents, and require a valid form I9(*). I did a stint as a substitute teacher at the public school here, and had to go through a similar process. Heck, just to be a 4H volunteer, I had to go through most of these hoops.
(*) We don’t require that you be a citizen, but you do have to be a permanent resident with proper documentation. We have several Canadians in our department, who apparently rowed over here from their island one day. One of my backup plans is to row over to *their* island and take a job in fire/EMS, which would get me a fast-track visa, if need be. I can see where I’d be working just through my window, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
Well, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?
In a press release from the Des Moines Public schools the board president said they hired a background checking company and “Baker – Eubanks conducted a “comprehensive background check”
But: Kim Cockham, the president and chief executive of Baker-Eubanks, said in an email [to the NYT] that “we were hired to investigate his criminal background, but we were not hired for any I-9 or work eligibility matters.” She said “we disclosed criminal records, which are also publicly available.”
There is documented evidencethat the last school Board in Pennsyvania, the job he had before the Iowa job, held off on a hiring finality because there were problems with his eligibility documentation.
At this point I think he is a slick operator, a liar, who is both lucky and is aided by Guyanan Obeah (voodo.)
I'm still trying to figure out why Tom Homan hasn't been charged with anything after taking a $50K bribe from undercover FBI agents. It's sort of like the Epstein files, it just went away?
I'm still trying to figure out why Tom Homan hasn't been charged with anything after taking a $50K bribe from undercover FBI agents. It's sort of like the Epstein files, it just went away?
Was Homan a government official at the time or was he a private consultant specializing in helping firms win government contracts? Was the "bribe" possibly a down payment to a person who had no authority to direct contracts? I don't know enough about it to have an informed opinion, do you?
They are probably trying for bigger fish, higher profile marks so that they can get gullible people to justify what they are doing when they grab people at random on the street because they have brown skin.
Was Homan a government official at the time or was he a private consultant specializing in helping firms win government contracts? Was the "bribe" possibly a down payment to a person who had no authority to direct contracts? I don't know enough about it to have an informed opinion, do you?
I'll have to check around and see what I can dig up. A quick lookup didn't show much. But yes, I don't think he was a government employee at the time. However, I'm not sure why the FBI wold use undercover agents handing him a bag of cash and filming it if it was just a down payment.
I'll have to check around and see what I can dig up.
I think the DOJ already did that and determined that a private consultant with no authority to influence government contracts couldn't be bribed to influence government contracts. That's just a guess on my part but you might consider it a possible conclusion in your quest to "figure out why he hasn't been charged with anything after taking a $50K bribe".
iris lilies
9-30-25, 1:14pm
Here is the company that performed or didn’t perform the thorough background check of Dr. Roberts:
6541
This is a minority and female owned firm in case you missed it in their headline. They don’t want you to miss that. Italics are theirs.
Dr. Roberts headed up a school system where the majority of the high schools are in the bottom 5% of schools across the state. He was not doing a great job.
One reason I’m invested in this fiasco is my parents and aunts are school teachers in that area. My dad worked for decades as a physical therapist in the Des Moines public school for physically challenged kids. Just a short three generations ago, Iowa schools were in the top 3 states in the United States. Iowa was always jockeying for number one position with Minnesota and Wisconsin. One of my favorite cousins went to school in the public schools in Des Moines. He went to school with the rich kids, all the big names you would recognize if you were from Des Moines. He went to school with the governors daughters. They all went to public school and non-Catholic private schools were pretty much non existent.
But no more. Iowa schools are not good. That said, they didn’t deserve Ian Roberts.
I think the DOJ already did that and determined that a private consultant with no authority to influence government contracts couldn't be bribed to influence government contracts. That's just a guess on my part but you might consider it a possible conclusion in your quest to "figure out why he hasn't been charged with anything after taking a $50K bribe".
I guess that wraps it up, then. I must have missed some news coverage. In the days when the DOJ was not an arm of the executive branch that would make good sense. I'm still not sure why he was given a bag of untraceable cash instead of a usual check or other funds transfer, then. I wonder if he declared it as income on his tax return?
"It remains unclear whether the investigation into Mr. Homan would have been dropped regardless of which party controlled the White House, given recent Supreme Court rulings that delineated a high bar for what constitutes a bribe or other corrupt act. But the revelation about the inquiry and the decision to shut it down comes amid broader fights over the degree of control Mr. Trump holds over how the Justice Department handles criminal cases, particularly those related to his perceived enemies."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/us/politics/tom-homan-fbi-trump.html#commentsContainer
Here is the company that performed or didn’t perform the thorough background check of Dr. Roberts:
...
This is a minority and female owned firm in case you missed it in their headline. They don’t want you to miss that. Italics are theirs.
Can you clarify what you mean by this, because it really looks like you are saying that because they are a minority and female-owned firm they are incompetent? Just as you implied that Roberts was a minority hire, or whatever you meant by saying black people were giddy at his hiring?
Can you clarify what you meant by these statements?
iris lilies
9-30-25, 6:35pm
Can you clarify what you mean by this, because it really looks like you are saying that because they are a minority and female-owned firm they are incompetent? Just as you implied that Roberts was a minority hire, or whatever you meant by saying black people were giddy at his hiring?
Can you clarify what you meant by these statements?
From this one major public relations piece, the homepage of Baker-Eubanks, I come to the conclusion they themselves believe their most important qualification is they are a minority and female owned firm. It’s the first piece of information they offer about themselves. It doesn't speak to their work. Hmmm.
Ian Roberts is of African descent so sure, he *IS* a minority hire. Facts. The current board president of the Des Moines public schools, Jackie Norris, was on the board when Roberts was hired, and she had some knowledge of him from their days in Washington. I can’t remember now their connection because I’ve been reading so much but she knew of him. And yes, I’m sure she was excited to champion his candidacy in Des Moines because he would be the first black superintendent and he has a colorful background and a zillion degrees and certificates. ( I reserve judgment about the accuracy of the facts of his background.)
Jackie Norris is a white lady. Maybe Des Moines needs a Superintendent of color since the majority of their students are not white. But it looks like his cultural make up was important in this hire.
Thank you for this clarification.
flowerseverywhere
9-30-25, 10:54pm
The real story here is how in the world this guy achieved the level of success he attained despite not being legally able to work in this country as an illegal alien.
Didn’t he have to provide a social security number to get employment or a drivers license? And how hard was a public figure like him to be found after his deportation order? And the guns. Are non citizens supposed to have guns? Plus working with children. So a criminal record is OK?
This story is so bizarre. He got here in 1999 on a student visa so it took 26 years to deport him.
something is seriously wrong with our immigration system.
littlebittybobby
9-30-25, 11:55pm
okay---all that being said---the conclusion is: IWAH is now known as "The Meathead State". Yup. Next time they need to hire a my-naur-itee to fill a $300,000/yr gravy job, they need to recruit an underprivileged person of Norwegian extraction. Yup.
iris lilies
10-1-25, 9:45am
Didn’t he have to provide a social security number to get employment or a drivers license? And how hard was a public figure like him to be found after his deportation order? And the guns. Are non citizens supposed to have guns? Plus working with children. So a criminal record is OK?
This story is so bizarre. He got here in 1999 on a student visa so it took 26 years to deport him.
something is seriously wrong with our immigration system.
The Department of Justice announced late yesterday they are investigating the Des Moines school system for their hiring practices. Their emphasis on minority hires may be running into illegal quota practices.
Meanwhile, Dr. Roberts’ previous employer in PA has now paid over $400,000 in victim compensation for three discrimination lawsuits brought by employees of that school district against Roberts’ actions. It is confounding that the first and biggest charge brought out to public notice was announced just a few days before he took the Des Moines job. That $250,000 settlement would’ve been well in the works while Des Moines was searching his background.
Man, they really wanted him in their Superintendent position to ignore yet another red flag.
2 of the 3 suits brought aganst Roberts for discriminatory hiring are by white men. Are we surprised? Shouldn't be.
But to flowers’ point, Roberts apparently had all of the faked documents he needs to attach to his I-9 form for work eligibility and no one looked too hard at them. He was even registered to vote in Maryland. No he probably wasn’t supposed to have guns given his immigration status, but the known gun charge in 2020 is minor, it’s a citation from a game warden about transporting a loaded shotgun. His possession of a loaded handgun just four days ago when it is now clear he’s not a US citizen, that’s the felony.
iris lilies
10-1-25, 9:59am
Another issue with the honesty of Dr. Roberts: he loves children so much, right?
His Des Moines paycheck was garnished for child support.
At a $300,000 salary he cant give money to his own children without being ordered by a court.
The Des Moines community got snookered.
iris lilies
10-1-25, 11:39am
Laura Powell wrote a beautiful summary of the Dr. Roberts fiasco in The Spectator World. Excerpt:
“…Why did no one bother to check before offering him a $300,000-a-year post? Why did no one even question the contradictions? The honest answer is race and ideology. In the current climate, pressing a man with a Caribbean lilt about where he was born is deemed a “microaggression.” Anyone schooled in the catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion knows better than to question the “lived experience” of someone like Roberts.
And Roberts, to his credit as a conman, gave them exactly what they craved. He embodied the DEI narrative: a black immigrant who rose from poverty to academic brilliance, to Olympic heights, to leadership in education. In Iowa – one of the whitest states in America – the all-female school board glowed with pride when they announced his appointment in 2023.
Spike Lee coined the phrase “Magical Negro” to mock Hollywood’s fondness for the saintly black character who redeems white protagonists. Roberts filled that role in real life. He promised not only to raise test scores but to cleanse Des Moines of its original sin of racism. He was their redemption, offered with a winning smile and a résumé that, if partially fictional, was at least inspirational…l
iris lilies
10-3-25, 10:38pm
A few hours ago, the Des Moines public schools board announced they are suing the company that was contracted to identify appropriate candidates for the school superintendent job. That company subcontracted with Baker/Eubanks to do background checks.
Meanwhile, Roberts’ rap sheet is online. These are just the infractions that Department of Homeland Security knows about, there may be others I suppose. It certainly doesn’t address his lies exaggerations and inuendos about his academic career. It doesn’t touch on his sometimes slimy personal actions.
July 3, 1996: Charges for criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument in New York.
Nov. 13, 1998: A charge for third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle in Queens, New York, which was dismissed July 6, 1999.
Nov. 1, 2012: A conviction for reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland.
Feb. 3, 2020: Charges for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon (having a loaded firearm outside his home or business); third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (an ammunition feeding device); and fourth-degree weapon charges. A document from Feb. 4, 2020, indicates that the second-degree criminal possession charge was inchoate.
Jan. 20, 2022: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania convicted Roberts of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm.
Sept. 26, 2025: Roberts was arrested with a Glock 9mm pistol and a fixed-blade hunting knife in his possession. He also had $3,000 in cash. 3 more guns found in his home.
Oct. 2, 2025: Roberts criminally charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
littlebittybobby
10-5-25, 1:16am
okay---see whatum sayin'---whya they ALWAYS pickin' on HIM??? it's clearly obbvvvious that it's because of their raycizzzm! Yup. Let him go and be a Free Man, for once! Dayam.
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