T o those who know him, Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts is an “integral part” of the school community and a former principal of the year. But to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he is a “criminal alien” and a threat to public safety.
Those competing descriptions of Roberts, 54, emerged following his dramatic arrest by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on Friday morning, in a case that has stunned the Des Moines, Iowa, community in which he has worked for years.
Roberts, an educator with decades of experience who became Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in 2023, was detained by ICE in a “targeted enforcement operation” last week…