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Guyana Native Overstayed Student Visa, Registered as Democrat Voter, and Armed Himself Illegally While Leading Iowa’s Largest School District
Ian Andre Roberts, the former head of Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa, has admitted guilt in a federal court for making false claims of U.S. citizenship on employment paperwork and for illegally possessing firearms as an undocumented individual.
Initially, Roberts had entered a plea of not guilty, with a trial date scheduled for March. However, he now faces a possible combined sentence of up to 20 years in prison, alongside the possibility of deportation following the completion of any prison term.
Roberts was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in September for overstaying a student visa that expired in 1999. Reports indicate he was registered as a Democratic voter in Maryland from 2012, although the Maryland State Board of Elections has stated that Roberts did not participate in voting.
The 35-year-old, originally from Guyana, South America, confessed, as detailed in court documents reviewed by Fox News, to falsely declaring U.S. citizenship on the I-9 form required for employment eligibility when he began working with the school district in 2023.
When ICE agents apprehended Roberts, they found a loaded Glock handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and a substantial amount of cash in his vehicle. Subsequent searches of his residence uncovered a rifle, shotgun, and pistol. As part of his plea agreement, Roberts acknowledged possessing these firearms illegally.
During his arrest by ICE, agents discovered a loaded Glock handgun in his vehicle along with a fixed-blade hunting knife and thousands in cash; additional firearms—a rifle, shotgun, and pistol—were later recovered from his home. Under this new plea deal, Roberts admits to having possessed those weapons.
🚨GUILTY🚨
Remember that illegal alien that was an Iowa superintendent?
Well he’s just pleaded guilty in court.
Ian Roberts says he’s guilty of falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen on a federal form and illegally possessing firearms.
The Guyana native drew national attention… pic.twitter.com/WcBcRpgGOa
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) January 22, 2026
READ MORE: No Surprises As Conservative Group Gets Ahold of Illegal Immigrant School Superintendent Voting Records
Surprise, Surprise: DHS Releases ‘Iowa Educator’ Ian Roberts’ Rap Sheet and History of Immigration Fraud
Separate reporting revealed Roberts was previously registered as a Democrat voter in Maryland’s Prince George’s County, where he falsely checked “yes” to U.S. citizenship on voter forms, though records show he never actually voted.
As RedState’s Jennifer Oliver O’Connell reported, he also had an extensive rap sheet and history of immigration fraud.
“With Roberts’ criminal background, he should have never been allowed to be around children, let alone become a superintendent of schools,” O’Connell wrote before listing off some priors, such as criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, along with varying degrees of criminal possession of a weapon.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, at the time of his arrest, had similar thoughts.
“Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge, should have never been able to work around children,” she said.
He shouldn’t have been around adults either. In fact, he should have been deported several times during his stay here in the United States.
SUPERINTENDENT SHAM: Ian Andre Roberts, a Guyana native and ex-superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district, admitted to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen and illegally possessing guns.https://t.co/OUOvbF6PRa
— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 23, 2026
Ian Andre Roberts story is an important one. Not just one that demonstrates the types of people willing to enter the country illegally, with that being a gateway crime to other crimes. Break the laws of a sovereign nation ➟ drug charges ➟ weapons charges ➟ who knows what was next?
This guy was gaming the system to secure a full-time superintendent position, earning a $270,000 annual salary. An illegal alien profiting off skirting the law represents everything seedy about the failed immigration system in this country.
But worse, he managed to do the one thing Democrats and the media insist never happens—he was registered to vote. To nobody’s surprise, he was a registered Democrat.
Roberts’ guilty plea comes as President Trump has predicted prosecutions are imminent over what he describes as the “rigged” 2020 presidential election. A sentencing date has not yet been set in his case.
RedState will provide updates on the Ian Andre Roberts case as more information becomes available.
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