Online sleuths have noted a fascinating new detail in the arrest of Ian Andre Roberts, a Guyanese national who served as Des Moines Public Schools superintendent despite a 2024 deportation order and 2020 weapons charges.
After he was arrested by ICE, School Board Chair Jackie Norris revoked, urged “radical empathy,” and defended hiring. However, online conservatives noted that she was connected to the Obama family and had even worked as Michelle’s chief of staff.
For context, Roberts was found with a loaded handgun, $3,000 cash, and a knife during his flight from agents. Even more disturbingly, Roberts was an active registered Democrat voter in Maryland, eligible to vote in elections despite being a non-citizen.
In any case, after the high-profile arrest, a conservative took to social media to reveal new information. “Hold up… let me get this straight. The Chair of the Des Moines school board used to be Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff… and knowingly protected an illegal alien while he was Superintendent on a $300,000 salary? Unreal,” the post read.
Initially, as we reported, an ICE press release offered insight into the dramatic arrest. ICE stated, “ICE Des Moines arrested Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien from Guyana in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed blade hunting knife.”
Describing the arrested man’s role, the document stated, “At the time of his arrest, Roberts was working as the Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools despite being an illegal alien with a final order of removal and no work authorization.”
Building on this point, the release noted Robert’s previous charges. “Roberts has existing weapon possession charges from February 5, 2020. Roberts entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May of 2024,” ICE announced.
"*" indicates required fields
Reacting to the case, Republican Maryland State Delegate Matt Morgan expressed a common concern with the information revealed in this document, asking, “If illegal aliens are not allowed to vote, why would they be on the voter rolls in the first place? And how would that enhance immigration enforcement? I don’t know, but that’s the excuse that they wrote to the DOJ.”
However, Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris, who seems to have been associated with Michelle Obama’s staff, defended the illegal immigrant. “We were notified that the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked Doctor Roberts’ license to practice as a superintendent in the state of Iowa. Without such a license, Doctor Roberts is not in compliance with his contract,” Norris said in an attempt to shift blame.
Bringing her remarks to a close, Norris kept up her half-hearted apology. She noted, “It seems fitting to take a page out of Dr. Roberts’s book and ask the community to engage in radical empathy as we work through the situation together. Radical empathy is the recognition that we can disagree and still empathize with each other, the respect of others’ humanity — this concept will be essential as we wait to learn more.”