Ian Roberts, the illegal immigrant who rose to the level of school superintendent in Des Moines, has been arrested and placed on leave after trying to escape authorities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents sought to detain him because he is in the country illegally, does not have authorization to work here, and was subject to a final removal order issued in 2024. When authorities stopped him in the school-issued vehicle he was driving, he fled into a wooded area before being apprehended with help from Iowa State Patrol officers.
Iowa school chief resignsThe Des Moines public schools chief who's been detained by immigration authorities resigned his position today while he challenges his potential deportation. Former Superintendent Ian Roberts was detained last week. The federal goverment says the Guyana native was living and working in the country illegally. A state board then stripped Roberts of his license to be superintendent. -- AFN |
Unfortunately, this is not unusual.
"We have the case of a law enforcement officer in Maine who was actually an illegal alien not only being a cop, but carrying a weapon, which is illegal for people in the country illegally. These sorts of things happen when you have the kind of chaos that we saw under the Biden administration," says Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
Roberts apparently lied about his citizenship during the application process.
"Lying about your status is an offense, and it needs to be addressed," Mehlman points out. "This is precisely what they have been doing in the cases of other people like Mahmoud Khalil (pictured above), who lied on his application both for a student visa and for a green card."
"If you're not truthful in your applications, then the government has further cause to enforce the law against you," the FAIR spokesman adds.
That could mean deportation.
In Iowa, the Department of Education is now reviewing the Des Moines district's hiring procedures for ensuring people are authorized to work in the U.S.
