The previous superintendent of Iowa’s largest college district, whose arrest by federal immigration brokers drew nationwide consideration, is predicted to vary his plea on Thursday in federal courtroom to costs that he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen and illegally possessed firearms.
Ian Roberts, a local of Guyana in South America, initially pleaded not responsible to the 2 costs, which collectively carry a most sentence of 20 years in jail. Topic to a 2024 ultimate removing order, Roberts might additionally face deportation.
The change-of-plea listening to was scheduled after Roberts’ legal professionals stated in a courtroom submitting that that they had been negotiating with federal prosecutors to succeed in a decision forward of a Jan. 28 deadline.
Roberts was superintendent of Des Moines Public Faculties, a district of about 30,000 college students, when he was arrested on Sept. 26 in a focused Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation. He allegedly fled from federal brokers earlier than they detained him in a close-by wooded space with the assistance of state troopers.
Authorities say they discovered a loaded handgun wrapped in a towel underneath the seat and $3,000 in money within the district-issued Jeep Cherokee he was driving.
Roberts, an educator and administrator for 20 years in districts throughout the U.S., was beloved for his charismatic and exuberant management fashion. His arrest surprised the Des Moines group.
A federal grand jury in October returned a two-count indictment. In line with the indictment, Roberts made a “false attestation” on his U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers Employment Eligibility Verification kind, referred to as an I-9, claiming he was a U.S. citizen although authorities say he knew he lacked authorization. That carries a punishment of as much as 5 years in jail and a superb.
For his place in Des Moines, Roberts accomplished an I-9 kind when he was employed in 2023 and submitted a Social Safety card and a driver’s license as verifying paperwork, in response to the district. He additionally said he was a U.S. citizen in his utility to the state board of instructional examiners, which issued Roberts an expert administrator license in 2023.
Federal officers stated Roberts first entered the U.S. in 1994 on a nonimmigrant visa. They stated he returned in 1999 on an F-1 pupil visa, which was set to run out in March 2004. He was denied a inexperienced card utility in 2003, in response to the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety.
His subsequent listed interplay with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers was in 2018, when he in the end obtained work authorization. Authorities stated his second utility for work authorization was authorized, expiring in December 2020, and that he has not had work authorization since then.
Roberts was topic to a discover to seem earlier than an immigration decide in October 2020 and a ultimate removing order in 2024, authorities stated. District officers stated they weren’t conscious of the immigration points.
Alfredo Parrish, one in all Roberts’ attorneys, has stated Roberts was underneath the impression from a previous legal professional that his immigration case was “resolved efficiently.”
Parrish didn’t return telephone and electronic mail messages Wednesday in regards to the change-of-plea listening to.
Roberts additionally faces a federal weapons cost, punishable by as much as 15 years in jail and a superb. The indictment describes two pistols, a rifle and a shotgun present in Roberts’ possession. Along with the one in his car when he was arrested, three firearms have been discovered throughout a search of Roberts’ house, authorities stated.
Roberts waived his proper to be current at his arraignment in October, when he pleaded not responsible. A trial had been scheduled to start in early March.
