Ice detains superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district

Ian Roberts has said he was raised by Guyanese immigrant parents in Brooklyn, and DHS claims he had ‘no work authorization’

US Immigration Customs Enforcement (Ice) have detained the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district.

Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS), was detained on Friday morning, according to the district’s board chair. “We have no confirmed information as to why Dr Roberts is being detained or the next potential steps,” said Jackie Norris, the DMPS board chair, in a press release on Friday. The district also named an interim superintendent.

This article was amended on 26 September 2025. An earlier version said Ian Roberts was born in Brooklyn based on past interviews. However, a 2023 statement from the district says he was “born to immigrant parents from Guyana, and spent most of his formative years in Brooklyn”.