Ian Roberts, a citizen of Guyana, entered the United States under a student visa in 1999. He obtained four degrees in the U.S., including a doctorate from Trident University.
While in the U.S., Roberts pursued a career in public education, holding jobs in California, Maryland, Missouri, New York, the District of Columbia, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. He is the author or co-author of at least three books, including Radical Empathy in Leadership, published in 2021, and The Power of Seven Second Chances (co-authored with Nicole Price in 2023).
In sum, until last week, Roberts was enjoying a brilliant career in public education. He was Superintendent of the Des Moines School District, Iowa's largest school system, pulling down a salary of $286,000 a year. According to his supporters, almost everyone in Des Moines loved him.
Then it all came crashing down. Unbeknownst to the Des Moines school board, Roberts was not an American citizen, and his federal work permit had expired. An immigration judge had issued a deportation order against Roberts in May 2024.
On Saturday, September 26, ICE agents sought to arrest Roberts, but he allegedly fled in his vehicle. With the help of Iowa law enforcement officers, he was apprehended and jailed. Police found a loaded handgun in his abandoned vehicle.
Roberts's supporters maintain that he's an excellent school administrator who should not be deported. Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris called for her community to show "radical empathy" for him, a sly reference to one of Dr. Roberts's book titles. Demonstrators protested Roberts's detention, whom Time Magazine described as a "beloved superintendent."
However, Roberts' civic record is not unblemished. He was cited in Pennsylvania for illegally possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle in 2022, and federal sources claim he was charged with a weapons violation in 2020. The loaded handgun that police reportedly found in Roberts's vehicle last weekend is another blemish on his record.
I confess I have some sympathy for Dr. Roberts. After all, he's resided in this country for a quarter of a century, and his federal work authorization didn't expire until 2020. Thus, he was a legal resident in the U.S. for more than two decades.
Roberts's supporters say the embattled school leader is the target of an "overzealous and racist administration," but I disagree. It's more accurate to say that Roberts's predicament is an example of a poorly administered immigration process.
Deportation is a harsh penalty to impose on a man who has a strong record of public service as an educator. Nevertheless, Roberts is partly responsible for his woes. ICE alleges that Roberts possessed a loaded handgun on the day he was arrested. If that charge is true, that fact won't help him avoid deportation.
 |
| Ian Roberts. Photo credit: Coppin State University |