Des Moines, Iowa, Public Schools Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after having been illegally residing in the United States and in possession of a loaded handgun.
On Friday, ICE agents announced Roberts’ arrest, noting that he is an illegal alien from Guyana who first entered the U.S. in 1999 on a student visa and was given a final deportation order by a federal immigration judge in May 2024.
ICE agents said they approached Roberts on Friday in his vehicle, which had been provided by Des Moines Public Schools as part of his role as school superintendent. Roberts, agents said, sped off and abandoned the vehicle in a wooded area.
Recovered from Roberts’ vehicle was a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife. ICE agents, working with the Iowa State Patrol, located Roberts and arrested him.
“This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” ICE’s Sam Olson said in a statement:
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. 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. [Emphasis added]
A loaded handgun recovered from Ian Andre Roberts’ vehicle, according to ICE officials. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Roberts had already been charged with weapons possession in February 2020.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is investigating how Roberts secured a handgun, a violation of federal law, since he is an illegal alien.
Roberts was named school superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in July 2023 after “an extensive nationwide search based on a leadership profile developed with input from the school board, teachers, families, and others in the school community,” the school district’s website states.
“[Roberts] is passionate about instructional excellence, diversity, equity, inclusion, and innovation in education,” the website continues.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
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