DHS Releases Long, Violent Criminal Record of Illegal Alien Iowa School Head [WATCH]

The Department of Homeland Security on Friday released a summary of criminal charges, convictions, and immigration records for Ian Andre Roberts, an illegal alien who served as superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools until his recent arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Roberts is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service at the Polk County Jail, DHS said in a statement that described his “rap sheet and immigration history” as revealing “a long record of criminal conduct in the United States,” adding that “he should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.”

Holy crap. DHS just released more info on the Iowa school superintendent and illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts. He has a very long, violent criminal record, combined with immigration fraud. He also voted in elections. pic.twitter.com/lZDeRJKmnw

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) October 3, 2025

Roberts is facing illegal weapons possession charges tied to firearms found during a federal search.

According to the Department of Justice, agents executing a search warrant at his residence located three guns: a loaded and chambered 9mm pistol tucked under a living-room seat cushion, a loaded rifle in a master-bedroom closet, and a shotgun behind the master-bedroom headboard.

DHS listed prior offenses and convictions in multiple states. In Maryland, Roberts was convicted in 2012 of reckless driving, unsafe operation, and speeding.

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In Pennsylvania, he was convicted in 2022 of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm. New York charges include criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument, and possession of a forged instrument dating to 1996, as well as second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree weapon charges in 2020.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said its civil division served Roberts with a sealed restraining order from Jackson County, Missouri, in August 2023.

The order’s basis was not disclosed because the document is sealed.

DHS said Roberts was also discovered to be illegally registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland, raising questions about voter registration safeguards.

The agency’s chronology said Roberts nevertheless advanced through leadership roles in public education across Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, California, Pennsylvania, and Iowa.

Des Moines Public Schools first placed Roberts on paid administrative leave following his arrest, then switched him to unpaid leave, and later accepted his resignation.

He had served as superintendent since 2023.

Questions were also raised about academic credentials listed on Roberts’ LinkedIn profile.

Morgan State University confirmed his attendance from 2003 to 2007 but said he “did not receive a degree.”

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology stated, “has no record of enrollment for a person with the name Ian Andre Roberts, and similarly, there is no record of enrollment in the MIT Executive MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management,” according to the MIT Registrar’s Office.

According to DHS, Roberts is a native of Guyana who first entered the United States in 1994 “classified as a visitor for pleasure.”

DHS said he departed at an unknown date and reentered before his 1996 New York drug charges.

He reentered again on a student visa in 1999.

He received employment authorization documents three times—in 2000, 2018, and 2019—each valid for one year, which means the last authorization expired in 2020.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a notice to appear in immigration court in 2020.

On May 22, 2024, an immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Roberts removed in absentia, DHS said.

ICE, assisted by the Iowa State Patrol, arrested Roberts on Sept. 26. ICE said Roberts attempted to flee and was found hiding in brush.

Agents said they recovered $3,000 in cash, a fixed-blade knife, and a loaded Glock 9mm pistol from the vehicle he had been driving.

Those findings led to additional criminal counts alleging an illegal alien in possession of firearms.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the agency’s public safety concerns extend to school environments.

“Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge, should have never been able to work around children,” McLaughlin said.

She added, “Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children FIRST.”

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