The superintendent of the public school system in Des Moines, Iowa, was detained Friday by federal immigration authorities, who said he had been living and working in the United States illegally.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said that the superintendent, Ian Roberts, who was born in Guyana, entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa and had received a deportation order from an immigration judge in May 2024. He had no work authorization, and had faced weapon possession charges several years ago, ICE officials said.

The arrest of the superintendent, who had become a well-known figure in Iowa’s capital city since he was hired two years ago, led to an impromptu protest Friday in downtown Des Moines. And with school leaders and reporters unable to reach Roberts in ja

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