On Friday, ICE announced the arrest of Des Moines Public School Superintendent Ian Roberts. Today more questions arise on how a man with deportation orders, no work authorization and a criminal background got his $300K per year government job.
Ian Andre Roberts, of Guyana, had a deportation order from May 2024 and weapons charges from February 5, 2020, when ICE finally nabbed him, according to ICE.
Initially, Roberts tried to flee and sped away as officers identified themselves, ICE said. Authorities later found his car abandoned in the woods nearby and were able to track him down with the help of the State Patrol.
The officers found that Roberts had a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife.
Even as details around the arrest were coming to light, the well has been so poisoned against ICE from the left, including the usual Democrat “Nazis” rhetoric from Democrat leaders, immediate reaction is to charge ICE with instilling fear.
In a group interview after the event, many expressed devastation, shock and fear for immigrants after hearing the news.
“I think ICE was trying to send a very strong message by taking one of our most valuable community members to place fear in our heart,” said Lori Young, a social and racial justice advocate with Iowa CCI. (snip)
Former legislator Ako Abdul-Samad was also present, and he told reporters that there may be one piece to the puzzle in Roberts’ arrest.
“Part of him being targeted was because he stood up for teachers, you know, and wouldn’t persecute teachers,” said Abdul-Samad. “We look at that means that if the individuals standing here stand up for justice, are we next? Are we going to be persecuted?”
Second layer of the onion is Democrats casting themselves as victims. Facts be damned. Democrats bleating “FASCIST” at all costs.
Mazie Stilwell, executive director of the liberal group Progress Iowa, demanded “answers and appropriate action” from elected leaders in a statement.
“No Iowan is safe. We’re living under a fascist regime because Nunn, Miller-Meeks, Hinson and every single Iowa Member of Congress has been in lockstep with the MAGA administration that is terrorizing our communities,” said Stilwell, who noted she is a DMPS parent. “President Trump is willing to use political power against anyone who disagrees with him.”
Who was protecting Iowan school children from this fraud?
Roberts’s official bio from his current employer, Des Moines Public Schools, states, “While in the nation’s capital he was named the George Washington University’s 2013 Washington D.C. Principal of the Year.” I have searched and search and cannot find any record of this award.… pic.twitter.com/hYwYwT4ZDz
— Laura Powell (@LauraPowellEsq) September 27, 2025
It’s a growing thread of Ian Robert’s years’ long audacity in creating a fake resume filled with all sorts of degrees, education, awards and positions he never held. Further onion peeling revels paperwork showing different birthdates, claims from a self-published autobiography that are mindboggling, and dates of events that make no sense.
But wait! It gets even weirder!
So you mean to tell me that MICHELLE OBAMA’S chief of staff hired an illegal alien with a fake degree & a criminal record to be the head of the public schools in Des Moines, Iowa? https://t.co/jWaPcaZ4Ud
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) September 27, 2025
Ruh-roh. And it appears that Roberts has actually met Michelle Obama, too. Did these ties to Democrat Royalty result in the school board blowing off of any vetting of Ian Roberts?
And while the usual “protestors” show up to demand Robert’s release, the Iowa legislature is acting quickly:
BREAKING: Iowa House Oversight Chair Rep. Charley Thomson (R) has issued a directive to Des Moines Public Schools to preserve all records tied to allegations that a district employee was an illegal immigrant under a final deportation order.
Compliance deadline is Sept. 29th. pic.twitter.com/dx69XRqdgA
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) September 27, 2025
This rotten onion hasn’t been peeled down to the core yet. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: Welcome Instapundit Readers!
featured image composite with cropped photo from Des Moines Public Schools press release, public domain
NTSOG says: This story reminds me of the following in South Africa where corruption is endemic:
From the BBC, 2024: “The man who had been chief engineer at South Africa’s state-owned passenger rail company has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for faking his qualifications.
Once hailed for his successful career, Daniel Mthimkhulu was head of engineering at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) for five years – earning an annual salary of about 2.8m rand ($156,000; £119,000).
On his CV, the 49-year-old claimed to have had several mechanical engineering qualifications, including a degree from South Africa’s respected Witwatersrand University as well as a doctorate from a German university.
However, the court in Johannesburg heard that he had only completed his high-school education.”
CDC says: It doesn’t matter who the place holder is as long as they follow the script.
[…] THIS CONTINUES TO BOGGLE THE MIND: Peeling the Onion of School Super. and ILLEGAL Alien Ian Roberts. […]
Packard says: Put aside the illegal alien status. Admittedly a very big put aside.
Look instead to the guy’s actual work experience. Mr. Roberts’ claims some of the absolute worst school districts in America on his resume. Even then, he does not appear to have lasted but a few years in academic cellar dweller places like Baltimore, NYC, St Louis, and Kansas City. Think of it like an assistant NFL assistant coach of multiple 0-16 teams who then manages to get hired as a head coach.
Des Moines Public School Board, what were any of you thinking?
SkillyBoo says: “,,,,Des Moines Public School Board, what were any of you thinking?”
They weren’t. They didn’t look beyond his DEI qualifications.
InterestedBystander says: What were they thinking? Well, let’s see.
Black? check
Fluent in DEI jargon? check
Former athlete? check
Ties to Democrat royalty? check
Ties to real European royalty? double check plus
Foreign born? another double check plus
Just when I become convinced that the fall of Western civilization is a conspiracy, they show me how utterly and completely corrupt and incompetent the ruling class is.
Richard says: The part about earning graduate degrees while teaching is at least plausible. Teaching is a part-time job and many of them spend their summers getting graduate degrees from Schools of Education. I leave it to people’s imagination as to the quality of those degrees. But never mind, when they come back in the fall they get pay raises in the step and lane salary matrix widely used. For the uninitiated a step means breathing for another year and a lane is a degree or sometimes just an accumulation of credit hours.
Edward Lunny says: “Des Moines Public School Board, what were any of you thinking?”.
They knew, all of them knew, but, they decided melanin content is king. Without that qualification any truly qualified candidates were summarily discarded. There are several questions to be answered by the school board. What did they know and when, to start. Aiding and abetting a known criminal is a crime. Malfeasance is also a crime. Also, where and from whom did he aquire the gun ? So very many questions.
Jerry Carroll says: The chairperson of that corrupt or inept or both school board is running for the US Senate as, what else, a Democrat. Whoever the Republican contender is should have fun with this. The board consists of women, People of Color and one honky.
bflat879 says: What could make this go away? A simple declaration that after Mr. Roberts took over, reading scores and math scores went up considerably. You won’t see it because that wasn’t his job. So, there was no one in the state of Iowa with the qualifications for this job? They just had to hire an illegal alien to fill the position?
DrMarina says: Can be reasonably sure that school board didn’t look beyond that scumbag’s demographics when they appointed him Superintendent, because he checked all of the “blocks”, and it made all of those AWFLs look soooo progressive and feel soooo good about themselves while they virtue signaled like that charity concert for the Palisades fire in LA (where nobody can account for the money). The average AWFL, species “Ignoranta chardonnaia”, doesn’t care as long as it looks good to others—regardless of the real consequences.
[…] *Did Robert’s educational credentials check out? Did he really have bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees from legitimate, credentialed colleges/universities? The Victory Girl’s blog is looking into that: […]
buddhaha says: The fact that the Des Moines public school system doesn’t know the difference between George Washington University in DC, and Washington University in St Louis is not an indication of competence. Incidentally, I worked with a EE from Washington University who was a pretty sharp guy (though not a good driver -funny story). Obviously, given this graduate, their Education School is like most Education Schools in the US: a flotilla of mediocrities on a sea of ignorance and indoctrination.
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