The Guyana-born educator, arrested by masked ICE agents in Iowa last week, has not only championed a stellar academic career in the U.S. but was on his way to becoming a high-ranking police officer back home before migrating to the U.S. at the close of the ‘90s.
Ian Andre Roberts, 54, the public schools superintendent of one of the state’s largest districts, remained in an ICE detention facility at the start of the week while his attorneys, state education officials, and agents battled to determine whether he would be deported as suggested by immigration officials.
Family members, including his elder brother, Colin, in Barbados, are adamant that Roberts will win his battle with ICE as “he has never been living illegally in the States. As far as we know, he is a citizen.” ICE says his visa has long expired.
ICE has said that they have a final deportation order to send Roberts, with his PhD in education, back to his native Guyana, where he had served as a police cadet officer, working in several departments, including immigration, criminal investigations, and the narcotics branch, before he headed to the US in 1999 on a student visa. The school district appears to be standing behind him for now, allowing him to fight his battles while on paid administrative leave.
Senior retired police officers like former Chief Winston Felix and former Assistant Commissioner Paul Slowe vividly and fondly recall the years Roberts spent working alongside them in the Guyana police force.
By the time he enlisted in the early ‘90s, Roberts had been identified for accelerated promotion due to his athletic and academic prowess, having attended the University of Guyana while he was a junior rank.
“We had sent him on the standard military officer’s course, and after graduation, he came back to the police. He served for a few years and then left. He was not dismissed or dishonorably discharged at all. He just moved on. He was a good, promising, and disciplined man who had worked in several police departments, including immigration,” said Slowe, who admitted to being saddened by news of his troubles with US immigration.
Felix said he identified Roberts’ future leadership promise. “I had been in contact with him while he was in the US. He had wanted to return after his studies, but did not. He was a cadet officer identified for future leadership in the force. I remember him well. He gave us no trouble. I hope things work out for him,” he said.
ICE agents said that he is the victim of a targeted operation aimed at ridding the country of illegal aliens. ICE Agents stated that he had abandoned the school-issued vehicle and ran when they approached him — he was apprehended shortly after. Agents also say that at the time of his arrest, the longtime gun owner and deer hunter was in possession of a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a hunting knife.
As a talented 400- and 800-meter runner, Roberts had made the qualifying times for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, but did not medal, representing the Guyana national team.
He became the Des Moines school system’s superintendent in 2023, overseeing around 30,000 students and about 5,000 employees. Officials say they had no reason to believe that he was an illegal immigrant, as he did indicate on documents that he was indeed a US citizen. Background checks conducted by private contractors and the FBI also appear not to show any negatives, even though Roberts has admitted to a misdemeanor, unlawful possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle after a day of deer hunting in Pennsylvania. He paid the $100 fine.