A photo included in the federal criminal complaint against former Des Moines Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts shows one of the guns U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents say they found in his home after he was arrested Sept. 26.
Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts meets with principals and district administrators at the 2023 Leadership Institute.

DES MOINES — The former superintendent of Iowa's largest school district, who was detained by immigration agents last week, has been charged in federal court with possessing firearms while in the United States without legal authorization, prosecutors said Oct. 2.

Ian Roberts, who resigned earlier this week as the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, was detained on Sept. 26 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after he was pulled over and allegedly fled from officers. Federal authorities accused Roberts, 54, of lacking legal authorization to reside or work in the United States.

During the arrest, federal agents discovered a loaded handgun that was wrapped in a towel inside the vehicle Roberts was driving, a criminal complaint alleges. Law enforcement also executed a search warrant at Roberts' home, and found three other firearms and multiple firearm magazines, according to the complaint.

The Department of Homeland Security previously said it was referring Roberts to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for an investigation into how he obtained the gun found in his vehicle.

Roberts was being held at the Woodbury County Jail in Sioux City, about 150 miles northwest of Des Moines, pending deportation by immigration authorities. But on Oct. 2, Roberts was taken into custody by the Department of Justice on a federal warrant for his arrest and was removed from the jail.

He had his initial court appearance on Oct. 2, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa said in a news release. Roberts will remain in federal custody pending further proceedings.

Ex-Des Moines schools superintendent received order for deportation in 2024

Roberts, who was hired by Des Moines Public Schools in 2023, received a previously unreported order for deportation in 2024. He is originally from Guyana in South America and immigrated to the United States to study and play college sports.

In 1999, the federal government granted Roberts a student visa. Between 2001 and 2018, according to the new criminal complaint, Roberts unsuccessfully applied to become a permanent U.S. resident.

Federal authorities alleged in the complaint that Roberts was not eligible to work in the United States when he assumed the district's top job. Roberts' work authorization in the United States expired in 2020, more than two years before he became the Des Moines Schools superintendent, according to the complaint.

In May 2024, Roberts failed to appear in a Dallas immigration court for a hearing on his potential deportation. A judge then ordered Roberts to return to Guyana.

Roberts' attorneys have said they are seeking to pause his deportation and reopen his case. Attorney Alfredo Parrish told the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, on Oct. 2 that his legal team was still working with state and federal entities to try to protect Roberts' interest and "take this one step at a time."

"We can’t say we didn’t know a possibility this would happen, but obviously we want to see if we can reach a resolution," he said of the complaint.

ICE agents found order of removal paperwork in superintendent's car, complaint reveals

While searching Roberts' home on Sept. 26, officers allegedly discovered a copy of his May 2024 deportation order in another vehicle inside his garage, according to the complaint.

Defending his client during a Sept. 30 news conference, Parrish said Roberts believed he was allowed to live and work in the United States. Parrish also shared a letter from Jackeline Gonzaelz, a Texas immigration attorney who previously represented Roberts.

"I am writing to inform you of the closure of your immigration case," Gonzalez wrote in the letter, dated March 27 of this year. "It has been my pleasure to represent you throughout this process, and I am pleased to report that your case has reached a successful resolution."

Despite Gonzalez's announcement of a "successful resolution," an immigration judge denied Roberts' motion to reopen the case in April.

Following Parrish's news conference, ATF Special Agent Robert Carlson wrote in the complaint that he had called Gonzalez, who told him she had been attempting to quit the case. He said she provided a November 2024 letter in which she told Roberts that he owed her firm about $11,800 in unpaid legal bills.

She filed a motion to withdraw as Roberts' attorney in January, but a judge did not rule on her request before denying Roberts' motion to reopen his case, according to the complaint. Regarding Gonzalez's letter, Carlson wrote in the complaint that it was "not intended to convey to Roberts that his immigration case with the immigration court was completed but rather it was being closed in her office."

Des Moines Public Schools is considering possible legal action

Since Roberts' initial arrest, Des Moines schools officials have said they believed he was a U.S. citizen. They said Roberts completed an I-9 form, the document that employers must use to confirm employees' authorization to work in the United States.

Phil Roeder, a spokesperson for the district, said in an email on Oct. 2 that Roberts gave the district a copy of his driver's license and a Social Security card before the school board hired him in May 2023.

The school board said in an Oct. 2 news release that it will discuss possible litigation related to the arrest and subsequent revelations on Roberts' background during a special session on Oct. 3.

"Des Moines Public Schools is facing a different reality than we were last Friday," school board chair Jackie Norris said. "As a learning institution, we will use this opportunity to both review the most recent superintendent hiring process as well as holding those accountable who contributed to this current situation."

"From misrepresenting his citizenship status to degrees that did not exist, Ian Roberts appears to have misled people about who he was not only here in Des Moines, but a trail that extends from Pennsylvania and across the country," Norris said. "Between legal action and a thorough internal review, we pledge to find the truth so this can never happen again."

Contributing: Samantha Hernandez, Des Moines Register; Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Des Moines superintendent detained by ICE charged with possessing firearms

Reporting by William Morris and Tyler Jett, USA TODAY NETWORK / Des Moines Register

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