Ian Roberts, a well-respected Black Iowa superintendent made national news after he was arrested by ICE for violating a deportation order. Now, he sits in jail awaiting a criminal trial… but that’s just the tip of the iceberg as new explosive details about his life in the U.S. has been exposed.
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We previously told you Roberts, 54, who is originally from Guyana, was arrested last Friday (Sept. 26) after he was ordered to leave the country during the Biden administration. During his arrest, police found a pistol which was “wrapped in a towel under the driver’s seat,” according to the federal complaint against him. This, coupled with at least three other weapons found in his home, led to federal gun charges against him, according to ABC News.
“As of Thursday October 2, 2025, Ian Roberts is no longer in the custody of the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office jail,” Woodbury County Sheriff Chad Sheehan said in a statement. “Mr. Roberts was taken into custody by the United States Department of Justice on a Federal warrant for his arrest.”
Roberts reportedly resigned from his role as Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) following his arrest, which sparked major protests at the federal building in Des Moines, KCCI reported. Despite the demonstration in his honor, new reports revealed Roberts’ professional career is more sketchy than anyone could’ve imagined.
The former Olympian came to the states in the ’90s on a student visa that expired in 2004. Eventually, he landed in a career all about education. According to his bio, Roberts completed programs at Morgan State University (MSU), Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and MIT’s Sloan School of Management, but a spokesperson for MIT told The New York Post they have no record of his attendance.
As far as his other alleged degrees, an official at MSU told the Des Moines Register Roberts never obtained a degree from their school either. Despite questions now swarming over his background, Roberts spent the last 20 years teaching at several schools around the country, including in St. Louis, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and New York City. Since his arrest, former colleagues of Roberts have spoken out against him.
“He ruined our district [in Erie, Pa.] for three years,” one anonymous colleague told The Post. “He was very smooth, affable, but the overarching feeling you got from him was smoke and mirrors, mystique.” Other folks called Roberts a “sketchy figure and pathological liar,” the publication reported. They alleged Roberts was hired to complete a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) mandate, although this has not been confirmed.
If that wasn’t enough, rumors that Roberts had an inappropriate relationship with a fellow colleague are resurfacing, which many claim is the reason for his resignation, according to The Post.
Roberts eventually moved to Iowa, becoming the superintendent of Des Moines Public School District, the largest district in the state, in 2023. The school board was reportedly unaware of Roberts’ immigration status when he was hired, according to DMPS.
Reports allege Roberts has not been eligible to work since 2020. And one source said they even expressed concerns that he wasn’t a legal resident, but the complaint fell on deaf ears.
“This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats,” ICE ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson said. “How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.”
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