by Sharelle B. McNair
January 16, 2026
Whereas sustaining his innocence, Roberts penned an essay that talks about accountability and eager to erase unfair detrimental preconceptions and first impressions of others.
Ian Roberts, the previous Des Moines, Iowa Faculty Superintendent who made headlines with a federal immigration case, is taking a plea deal after it was revealed he was registered to vote in Maryland with out being a U.S. citizen, Fox Baltimore reported.
A Jan. 22 listening to is scheduled for the Guyana native in Des Moines as he faces a pending deportation order and scheduled to face trial Mar. 2. The phrases of his plea deal have but to be revealed however his previous in Maryland is an open e-book.
It was revealed that Roberts, who immigrated to america in 1994, was registered to vote in Maryland, regardless of his citizenship standing, after his September 2025 arrest, leading to calls coming in from advocacy teams for extra concrete requirements within the state’s voter registration course of.
His ties to the state date again years, as he was employed by Baltimore Metropolis Faculties for roughly eight years between 2001 and 2010, working as a trainer and a principal. He later attended Morgan State College, an HBCU, unsuccessfully pursuing his Doctorate of Schooling in City Academic Management. However his troubles unraveled in Iowa.
He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) brokers as a result of existence of “a closing order of removing and no work authorization.” Days later, Roberts submitted his resignation as superintendent, the place he had made historical past after turning into the primary Black individual to supervise the most important college district in Iowa when he was employed in 2023.
Along with the danger of being deported, prosecutors charged him with two counts for possessing a firearm as an unlawful alien and making a false assertion for employment, in line with the Des Moines Register. Prosecutors declare Roberts possessed 4 weapons illegally, together with a loaded handgun they allege was left in his district-owned car following his makes an attempt to flee ICE.
His arrest induced bouts of chaos and confusion as college officers questioned how Roberts was employed within the first place. The previous college chief was employed with help from consulting firm, JG Consulting, the place by present process a background examine, it was by no means revealed that he was ever charged with a misdemeanor, felony, or main site visitors violation — together with driving below the affect.
As issues got here to mild, public information reveal Roberts’ prolonged rap sheet consists of fees equivalent to drug possession and intent to promote in 1996 and weapons fees in 2020 and 2022, pleading responsible to the 2020 fees. The mishap resulted within the college district submitting a lawsuit towards JG Consulting, with leaders claiming they had been “a sufferer of deception” as a consequence of Roberts’ alleged mendacity all through his tenure.
Regardless of the continued rifts, Roberts, at present on the Polk County Jail, has maintained his innocence and desires the world to realize it. Together with his LinkedIn web page nonetheless accessible and lively, he penned an essay that talked about accountability and eager to erase unfair detrimental preconceptions and first impressions of others. “Educating, main, and serving—particularly in advanced programs—is difficult. It calls for outcomes. It measures outputs. However greater than something, it calls for that we present up absolutely human,” he wrote within the prolonged publish.
“Identical to that scholar, many individuals quietly aspire to enhance. Generally the will is for themselves, different instances it’s for others however they need to do away with the crimson asterisks that’s weighing them down.”
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