Des Moines superintendent detained by immigration agents

Federal immigration agents detained the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools on Friday morning, school officials said, thrusting the leadership of Iowa's largest district into temporary upheaval and raising questions about the circumstances of the arrest. Jackie Norris, president of the school board, said in a statement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took Dr. Ian Roberts into custody and that Associate Superintendent Matt Smith would serve as interim superintendent while the district awaits more information.

The district said it had no confirmed details about why Roberts was detained or what the next steps would be. Department of Homeland Security officials, however, told reporters that Roberts was arrested on the basis of a prior deportation order. DHS said he entered the United States from Guyana on a student visa in 1999 and was ordered deported in 2024. The department also said Roberts had a 2020 weapons charge and that agents found a loaded handgun, about 3,000 in cash and a fixed‑blade hunting knife when they arrested him. DHS said Roberts fled from agents and left his vehicle near a wooded area before Iowa State Patrol assisted with locating him.