Des Moines schools Superintendent Ian Roberts is resigning while he battles a federal case for his deportation, his attorneys announced.
Attorney Alfredo Parrish said in a Tuesday, Sept. 30, news conference that Roberts, 54, already suspended without pay, would be leaving his post effective immediately. In a letter provided to the media, Parrish wrote on Roberts’ behalf that Roberts “does not want to distract” the district from its educational mission as he tries to stave off deportation.
U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Roberts, a native of Guyana, on Friday in connection with a previously unreported final order of removal an immigration judge issued May 29, 2024. Roberts was hired as DMPS superintendent in May 2023.
Parrish, Roberts’ lead attorney, said in the news conference outside his Des Moines offices that his team had been speaking with Roberts all morning on what he called a “very complex case.”
“He understands that he has the community’s support and it really gives him inspiration,” Parrish said. “His spirits are high.”
Federal officials have said Roberts lacked legal authorization to live or work in the United States. Parrish said his team is still gathering facts about Roberts’ immigration status.
Parrish said his team is working to reopen Roberts’ immigration case. He said many details of the case are still unclear. He cautioned the community, including those planning protests on Roberts’ behalf in the coming days, not to “get ahead of your skis.”
Why is Roberts resigning?
Parrish said the resignation letter from Roberts would be sent to the Des Moines School Board later Tuesday. The board is planning to meet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Central Campus, 1800 Grand Ave. in Des Moines, to discuss whether to terminate Roberts’ employment contract or accept his resignation.
“Dr. Roberts has authorized me to send this letter announcing his immediate resignation from his position as superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools,” Parrish said in the letter. “Out of concern for his 30,000 students, Dr. Roberts does not want to distract the Board, educators, and staff from focusing on educating DMPS’s students.”
What’s next in the immigration case?
Parrish said Roberts’ lawyers have filed a motion to stay his deportation and in the coming days will be filing another motion to reopen his immigration case.
Legal experts have said Roberts faces long odds to reverse his deportation order, in part because he allegedly has past weapon charges and had a loaded gun in his vehicle when he allegedly fled from ICE officers on Friday.
Unlike other types of federal court proceedings, immigration courts operate largely out of the public eye, with many types of information considered confidential by law. Parrish said he and his team still do not have a full picture of Roberts’ cases.
Parrish points finger at former immigration attorney
Federal officials have said Roberts received a “final order of removal” in May 2024. Both the Des Moines School District and U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican representing Des Moines, said they had obtained copies of the order. The Register has reviewed a redacted copy of the removal order.
Parrish provided copies of a letter to Roberts dated March 27, 2025, from Texas immigration attorney Jackeline Gonzalez. In it, she states that she represented Roberts and that his immigration case had been closed, adding, “I am pleased to report that your case has reached a successful resolution.”
Fox News and other news outlets have reported that in April 2025, a month after the Gonzalez letter, an immigration judge in Dallas declined to reopen Roberts’ case in absentia.
Reached for comment, Gonzalez told the Register she could not respond without speaking to Roberts’ current lawyers, citing attorney-client privilege.
Lawyer addresses gun, flight allegations
Bringing a gun onto school property is a violation of district property and potential grounds for termination. Asked about the loaded handgun reportedly found in Roberts’ district-provided vehicle Friday, Parrish said he is still gathering information about what happened, but said that decades ago, Roberts served in the Guyanan military and police in operations against drug traffickers, and that “he was the target on some occasions to be taken out by the cartels.”
Regarding the allegations that Roberts sped away from ICE officers, abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot, Parrish again said he didn’t know all the facts, but suggested that Roberts, who is Black, may have been concerned for his safety.
“I mean, you guys are smart reporters. I don’t have to share with you those stories,” he said. “I’m not saying that’s the reason, but he’s from Guyana, he’s in the United States, and he gets stopped.”
2020 arrest circumstances unclear
During his hiring process, Roberts had disclosed a 2021 citation from Pennsylvania for placing a loaded gun in his car during a hunting trip. He was fined $100.
After his arrest Friday, Department of Homeland Security officials cited “existing weapon possession charges” from Feb. 4, 2020, stemming from an arrest by “Port Authority police.” District officials have said they had no knowledge of any such case. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey told the Register that records of Roberts’ case have been sealed by New York state courts.
Asked about that case, Parrish said he and his team are still trying to learn the facts, and so far have only been able to obtain fragmentary docket records.
‘We’ve not seen the president’s fingerprints,’ Parrish says
Since Donald Trump took office in January, federal immigration authorities have been widely criticized for aggressive and at times allegedly unlawful tactics, including protests in response to the recent violent arrest of an Iowa City man. Parrish, though, said he has not seen evidence that Roberts’ arrest is due to the new administration’s hostility to undocumented immigrants.
“Have we seen the president’s fingerprints on this case? At this point, we have not. We may see that, it’s possible, but we’ve not seen the president’s fingerprints on this case,” he said. “This is a case that’s been juggling through the system for a number of years.”
Justice Department investigating Des Moines schools’ hiring practices
Des Moines school district officials have said they hired a firm to check Roberts’ background before hiring him and believed that he was a U.S. citizen. Several elected officials have criticized the district for failing to accurately ascertain his immigration status.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said it was opening an investigation into the district’s hiring practices.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley seeks answers on Roberts’ case
Separately, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said in a news release he had sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem seeking more information about Roberts’ case, including:
Grassley said he wants the information by “no later than” Friday.
(This story was edited to add new information.)
Reporter Tyler Jett contributed to this report.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Ian Roberts resigning as Des Moines Public Schools superintendent after immigration arrest
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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