Former Olympian and Des Moines Public Schools' first Black Superintendent, Ian Roberts, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following a Friday traffic stop.

​According to an ICE press release, during the stop, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says Roberts fled in his vehicle, which was later found abandoned in a wooded area. Agents reportedly found a loaded firearm, a hunting knife, and approximately $3,000 in cash inside the car.

​The DHS reports that he was living in the U.S. without a valid immigration status, had no work authorization, and faced a final order of removal.

​Roberts began his tenure in Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) in 2023, according to KCCI. He completed multiple background checks before being hired and declared he was a U.S. citizen while applying for his Administrator license.

​Jackie Norris, chair of the DMPS Board, stated that district officials “followed all of the steps in the process” and that no red flags appeared in the vetting. Meanwhile, Iowa Congressman Zach Nunn described Roberts’ hiring as “a colossal failure,” demanding that DHS clarify when Roberts entered the country, when the removal order was issued.

​According to Iowa Public Radio, before his career working for the largest school district in Iowa, Roberts was also a star athlete who competed for Guyana in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and is a member of Coppin State University’s (CSU) hall of fame.

An alumni profile published by CSU noted that Roberts’s father immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s, and his mother in the early 2000s, in search of better opportunities for their family.​ “My career chose me," he said. "I believe that I was divinely guided to this career, to educate, inspire, motivate, and serve as a champion for children, particularly children who are marginalized by our K-12 education system, and to inspire the adults who serve them daily.”

The district has placed Roberts on paid administrative leave.

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