Illegal Immigrant Superintendent Wasn’t Checked Through Federal E-Verify System

The illegal immigrant superintendent of an Iowa public school system did not undergo an immigration employment verification through the federal E-Verify system, which ensures workers are in the country legally and eligible to work, before he was hired for the role, The Daily Wire has learned.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts of Guyana on Friday. Roberts was handed a deportation order from an immigration judge in May 2024 and had weapons charges from Feb. 5, 2020, according to ICE.

Since then, the school district has come under scrutiny for how it came to hire Roberts in the first place.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser told The Daily Wire that the agency “did not find” any E-Verify cases under Roberts’ name going back more than a decade. Roberts assumed his latest role in July 2023.

USCIS also doesn’t have any record that Des Moines Public Schools “has ever been enrolled in the E-Verify program.”

“It’s inconceivable. Roberts deceived parents, students, and administrators. Justice will be served,” Tragesser said.

Credit: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Des Moines Public School board chair Jackie Norris claimed Monday that “at no point was any DMPS employee or board member notified that Dr. Roberts was not eligible to work, either by a federal agency or Dr. Roberts.” She also said that Roberts “stated he was a citizen” on his I-9 employment eligibility form and provided a driver’s license and social security card when he was hired.

During Roberts’ hiring process, the Dentons Davis Brown law firm reviewed the form and accompanying documents and stated that the information provided “did not raise concerns about his eligibility to work,” Norris said.

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Des Moines Public Schools also contracted the outside firm JG Consulting to recruit possible superintendent candidates in December 2022, the school district said. The firm used the company Baker-Eubanks to conduct a background check into Roberts, which the district said “found nothing related to citizenship or immigration matters related to Dr. Roberts.”

A spokesman for Baker-Eubanks, however, told The Daily Wire that “all publicly available criminal records” were disclosed to the school district, which “ultimately chose to proceed with the hire despite having received” the concerning history.

Notably, Iowa doesn’t require employers in the state to use E-Verify. The state Senate voted to mandate that employers use E-Verify last year, but the fate of the bill still sits in the hands of House legislators.

Former New York Field Office Deputy Director Scott Mechkowski told The Daily Wire that the Roberts case is the perfect example of why E-Verify is needed nationwide.

“The hiring of an undocumented individual with a criminal history and deportation order into a position of educational leadership exposes a profound vulnerability in our systems, one that E-Verify could have sealed at the outset,” said Mechkowski.

“This is not merely an oversight, it is a betrayal of public trust, demanding immediate reform to safeguard our institutions and communities. How many more are out there? Pass E-Verify immediately,” he added.

A spokesman for the school district didn’t immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment.

Roberts has since been placed on unpaid leave and lost his superintendent license. His lawyers said during a press conference on Tuesday that Roberts will submit a formal resignation letter later in the day.

When he was nabbed by ICE, Roberts fled the scene and abandoned his car in the nearby woods, the agency said. ICE eventually found him and discovered he was carrying a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife.

Roberts previously applied for immigration status after overstaying his student visa and stated on the application that he had six children with five different women, including two in the same year, The Daily Wire reported. The application was denied.

He first came to the United States in 1999 on a student visa.

The illegal immigrant superintendent of an Iowa public school system did not undergo an immigration employment verification through the federal E-Verify system, which ensures workers are in the country legally and eligible to work, before he was hired for the role, The Daily Wire has learned.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts of Guyana on Friday. Roberts was handed a deportation order from an immigration judge in May 2024 and had weapons charges from Feb. 5, 2020, according to ICE.

Since then, the school district has come under scrutiny for how it came to hire Roberts in the first place.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman Matthew Tragesser told The Daily Wire that the agency “did not find” any E-Verify cases under Roberts’ name going back more than a decade. Roberts assumed his latest role in July 2023.

USCIS also doesn’t have any record that Des Moines Public Schools “has ever been enrolled in the E-Verify program.”

“It’s inconceivable. Roberts deceived parents, students, and administrators. Justice will be served,” Tragesser said.

Credit: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Des Moines Public School board chair Jackie Norris claimed Monday that “at no point was any DMPS employee or board member notified that Dr. Roberts was not eligible to work, either by a federal agency or Dr. Roberts.” She also said that Roberts “stated he was a citizen” on his I-9 employment eligibility form and provided a driver’s license and social security card when he was hired.

During Roberts’ hiring process, the Dentons Davis Brown law firm reviewed the form and accompanying documents and stated that the information provided “did not raise concerns about his eligibility to work,” Norris said.

Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout!

Des Moines Public Schools also contracted the outside firm JG Consulting to recruit possible superintendent candidates in December 2022, the school district said. The firm used the company Baker-Eubanks to conduct a background check into Roberts, which the district said “found nothing related to citizenship or immigration matters related to Dr. Roberts.”

A spokesman for Baker-Eubanks, however, told The Daily Wire that “all publicly available criminal records” were disclosed to the school district, which “ultimately chose to proceed with the hire despite having received” the concerning history.

Notably, Iowa doesn’t require employers in the state to use E-Verify. The state Senate voted to mandate that employers use E-Verify last year, but the fate of the bill still sits in the hands of House legislators.

Former New York Field Office Deputy Director Scott Mechkowski told The Daily Wire that the Roberts case is the perfect example of why E-Verify is needed nationwide.

“The hiring of an undocumented individual with a criminal history and deportation order into a position of educational leadership exposes a profound vulnerability in our systems, one that E-Verify could have sealed at the outset,” said Mechkowski.

“This is not merely an oversight, it is a betrayal of public trust, demanding immediate reform to safeguard our institutions and communities. How many more are out there? Pass E-Verify immediately,” he added.

A spokesman for the school district didn’t immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment.

Roberts has since been placed on unpaid leave and lost his superintendent license. His lawyers said during a press conference on Tuesday that Roberts will submit a formal resignation letter later in the day.

When he was nabbed by ICE, Roberts fled the scene and abandoned his car in the nearby woods, the agency said. ICE eventually found him and discovered he was carrying a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife.

Roberts previously applied for immigration status after overstaying his student visa and stated on the application that he had six children with five different women, including two in the same year, The Daily Wire reported. The application was denied.

He first came to the United States in 1999 on a student visa.