Ian Andre Roberts, the illegal alien who served as the Des Moines, Iowa, Public Schools superintendent, had an extensive criminal history dating back to the mid-1990s, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials revealed on Friday.
As Breitbart News reported, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Roberts last week as he had a final deportation order from a federal immigration judge that was issued in May 2024. When Roberts was arrested, agents found $3,000 in cash in his government-issued vehicle along with a hunting knife and a loaded handgun.
DHS officials now say that Roberts had a lengthy criminal record long before he was appointed by the Des Moines School Board, chaired by a Democrat candidate for Iowa’s open Senate seat who previously served as First Lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff.
“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,” DHS’s Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement:
When ICE officers arrested this Superintendent, he was in possession of an illegal handgun, a hunting knife, and nearly $3,000 in cash. This criminal illegal alien is now in U.S. Marshals custody and facing charges for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearms [sic]. Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children first.
[Emphasis added]
According to DHS, Roberts faced criminal charges for 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 in July 1996.
Then in November 1998, Roberts was charged with third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle in New York. That charge was later dismissed in July 1999.
Years later, in November 2012, Roberts was convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation, and speeding in Maryland.
In February 2020, Roberts faced charges for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon for having a loaded firearm in his home, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and fourth-degree weapon charges.
Two years later, in January 2022, Roberts was convicted in Pennsylvania for unlawful possession of a loaded firearm.
Less than two years after his last criminal conviction, Roberts was named school superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools and was praised by the board for his support of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
DHS officials also issued Roberts’ full immigration history to clear up questions as to how the illegal alien had first arrived in the United States and eventually was ordered deported by a federal immigration judge:
June 1, 1994: Roberts entered the United States at John F. Kennedy International Airport on a B-2 nonimmigrant visa; he was classified as a visitor for pleasure. He departed the U.S. on an unknown date but returned before his 1996 arrest for narcotics possession.
March 8, 1999: He entered the U.S. through California’s San Francisco International Airport as an F-1 student visa holder. The visa was set to expire March 7, 2004. He departed the U.S. on an unknown date.
June 28, 1999: Roberts reentered the U.S. through San Francisco on the same F-1 student visa. He departed the U.S. on an unknown date.
Aug. 30, 1999: He again reentered the U.S. at JFK International Airport on the same student visa.
Feb. 9, 2000: Roberts filed an application for employment authorization, which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved April 5, 2000, with an expiration date of April 1, 2001.
Sept. 4, 2000: He left the U.S. from JFK International Airport.
Sept. 30, 2000: Roberts entered the U.S. again at JFK International Airport on the same F-1 student visa.
May 21, 2001: He filed a green card application with USCIS, which the agency rejected Jan. 3, 2003.
May 15, 2018: Roberts filed another green card application with USCIS, which the agency again rejected on May 30 that year.
June 4, 2018: Roberts filed another green card application, which USCIS rejected for the third time June 20 that year.
July 15, 2018: He filed for employment authorization documents, which USCIS granted on Dec. 18 that year, giving the documents an expiration date of Dec. 18, 2019.
July 16, 2018: Roberts filed, for the fourth time, a green card application. USCIS denied it Jan. 24, 2020.
Nov. 18, 2019: He filed another application for employment authorization documents, which USCIS approved Dec. 3 of that year and issued an expiration date of Dec. 18, 2020.
Feb. 11, 2020: Roberts updated his address with USCIS.
Oct. 2, 2020: USCIS issued him a notice to appear before an immigration judge.
May 22, 2024: An immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Roberts removed in absentia.
April 24, 2025: An immigration judge in Dallas denied Roberts’ motion to reopen his case.
Sept. 26, 2025: ICE officials arrested Roberts in Des Moines, Iowa.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
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