Former Des Moines Schools Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts was sentenced Friday to 24 months in prison. Roberts was arrested in 2025 by ICE agents as part of the Trump administration’s immigrantion crackdown across multiple states.
He was detained by ICE agents after he fled a traffic stop in September 2025. Roberts abandoned his car and fled by foot into a wooded area before being apprehended by ICE agents and Iowa State Patrol officers.
The former educator was in possession of a loaded handgun, a hunting knife and $3,000 in cash.
Roberts described himself as a U.S. citizen on his job application.
The Des Moines Public Schools Board voted unanimously to place Roberts on paid leave following his arrest. He continued to earn an annual base salary of $270,000 while in jail awaiting trial.
Roberts pled guilty in January 2026 to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen and illegally possessing firearms. Prosecutors accused Roberts of submitting a counterfeit Social Security card to the Des Moines public school district.
He was appointed superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district in July 2023.
Roberts disclosed his arrest for possession of a hunting rifle when he was hired, a district spokesperson told CNN. But he failed to disclose his other arrests.
ICE officials described Roberts as a “criminal alien” and a public safety threat.
“How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district,” ICE Enforcement Director Sam Olson said.
Roberts will likely be deported to his native Guyana once he serves the sentence, the Associated Press reports.
Roberts was born in Guyana and entered the United States on a student visa. His visa expired in 2020. He served as a teacher and a principal in Baltimore schools in 1998.
While racing a group of elementary school students in 2024, the former Olympian finished second to an 11-year-old girl. Photos from the race went viral on social media.
Roberts ran the 800 meters for Guyana in the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.