Former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts of Guyana has been charged with illegally possessing four firearms while in the U.S. without legal status, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Thursday that provides detailed allegations about Roberts’ immigration status and arrest.
Roberts was ordered removed from the U.S. in absentia in May 2024, and according to the complaint, an immigration judge denied a request to reopen Roberts’ case in April 2025. The complaint states Roberts has not been authorized to work in the U.S. since Dec. 18, 2020. He was hired by DMPS in 2023.
The complaint stated that after ICE agents arrested Roberts last Friday morning, a DMPS employee came to pick up the district-owned car that Roberts was driving. Inside, the DMPS employee found a loaded firearm wrapped in a towel under the driver’s seat. The complaint stated the gun was bought by a woman believed to be Roberts’ wife.
Federal agents found three more firearms in Roberts’ house, according to the complaint. They also said they found Roberts’ deportation order and other immigration papers under the floor mat of a car in Roberts’ garage.
Roberts will be held in federal custody pending further legal proceedings, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
He was moved from the Woodbury County jail to the Polk County jail on Thursday.
New criminal complaint describes some of Roberts’ immigration history
Roberts entered the U.S. in 1999 on an F-1 student visa, which expired in 2004, according to the complaint unsealed Thursday. But he graduated from Coppin State University in 1998, and his attorney declined to say on Tuesday when Roberts first entered the country.
Roberts filed applications in 2001 and 2018 to try to become a lawful permanent resident, but his applications were denied.
His most recent application for a green card, according to the complaint, was filed in July 2018 based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. Roberts’ application was denied in January 2020 because he “failed to respond to a request for additional information.”
According to the criminal complaint, Roberts had lawful employment authorization from Dec. 18, 2018, to Dec. 18, 2020. Since then, the complaint alleges Roberts has not been authorized to work in the U.S. He served as a school superintendent in Pennsylvania and in Des Moines after his authorization expired.
The complaint includes a copy of the final order of removal issued to Roberts in May 2024, which states that Roberts failed to appear for his hearing at the time. The criminal complaint also states, “On April 30, 2025, an immigration judge denied Roberts’ motion to reopen the proceedings, finding Roberts had failed to demonstrate that he did not receive notice of the May 22, 2024 hearing.”
On Tuesday, Roberts’ attorney, Alfredo Parrish, said Roberts believed his immigration case had been resolved. He distributed a letter from Roberts’ prior immigration attorney stating, “your case has reached a successful resolution.”
According to the complaint, the prior attorney, Jackeline Gonzalez, told federal officials the letter was meant to convey Roberts’ case was being closed in her office, not with the immigration court. She said she filed in January 2025 to withdraw as his lawyer because of unpaid legal bills.
Federal government lists Roberts' past charges and convictions
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security provided more information in an email Friday about Roberts’ past criminal charges.
DHS claimed Roberts faced charges in 1996 for possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument in New York, but the agency did not provide the outcome of those charges.
He was also charged in 1998 for third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle in New York, which was later dismissed, according to DHS.
DHS stated Roberts was convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland in 2012.
The agency has previously mentioned weapons charges against Roberts from February 2020 without providing additional details. On Friday, DHS said the charges were for having a loaded firearm outside his home or business, possession of an ammunition feeding device, and “fourth-degree weapon charges.”
The agency stated the charge for having a loaded firearm was “inchoate,” a legal term that refers to intended crimes that are not fully carried out. The New York Times reported Sunday the 2020 charges likely refer to a sealed case in New York, in which Roberts was arrested when a gun was found in his bag at LaGuardia Airport.
DHS also mentioned Roberts’ citation for unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in Pennsylvania. He pleaded guilty in 2022 and paid a $100 fine, according to court records. Des Moines Public Schools officials said Roberts disclosed this incident related to a hunting rifle during the hiring process.
Roberts went through background checks to get licensed as an administrator by the Iowa Department of Education. On his application for a license, obtained by IPR through a public records request, Roberts answered “no” when asked if he was ever convicted of any crimes.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Roberts is “a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge” who “should never have been able to work around children.”
IPR reached out to Roberts’ attorneys for comment and did not immediately receive a response Monday.
This story was updated Monday, Oct. 6 at 1:45 p.m. to include additional information from federal officials about Roberts' past.
