The first Black superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, Ian Roberts, was detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, Sept. 26. According to the Federal Officials and the Iowa Department of Public Safety, the Brooklyn-raised son of two Guyanese immigrant parents fled ICE agents in a “targeted enforcement operation,” as labeled by the Department of Homeland Security. At the time of his arrest, Roberts had abandoned his car, which held a loaded gun, a hunting knife and $3,000 in cash. As of Oct. 2, Roberts has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms.
Roberts was taken into custody by the U.S. Department of Justice on a federal warrant for his arrest. Despite the ongoing development on the background and case of Roberts, hundreds of Des Moines residents and students gathered outside the Neal Smith Federal building on the corner of Second Avenue and Locust Street to protest his detainment the day of his arrest.
Christopher Ramirez-Chavez, a first-year student at Drake and graduate of East High School, attended the protest.
“It’s devastating to have a very, very important community partner who has helped so many individuals [detained],” said Ramirez-Chavez. “Many, including myself, felt that it was a bit of a politically-charged decision because of Roberts’ dedication to serving with the student body and for the cause he truly believed in: a better life in education for those disadvantaged.”
Previously, Ramirez-Chavez had worked closely with Roberts as a part of the Administration Communication Staff and Reimagine Education Committee for Public Schools.
Having attended many protests previously and organizing his own student-run protest at the Iowa Capitol, Ramirez-Chavez expressed that the protest’s large turnout gave the movement a “large sense of community.”
“You feel less lonely in a sense,” Ramirez-Chavez said in reference to the number of cars honking as they drove by and the appearance of a DMPS school bus.
As a Drake student himself, and one of the many members of the student body who has grown up through the Des Moines school district, Ramirez-Chavez said that “an essential part of the Drake experience is not just being on the campus of Drake University, but also the greater Des Moines area.”
With this in mind, Ramirez-Chavez encouraged Drake students to become more engaged and aware of what is happening within the greater Des Moines metropolitan community
As superintendent, Roberts worked closely with the Des Moines community to offer students opportunities to help advance their careers and education. Roberts worked with Drake University to oversee the completion of the Mediacom Stadium, a 4,000-seat venue that is used by both high schools and colleges. Additionally, he promoted a relationship between the public schools and his office as one founded in mutualism. As a result, Roberts offered internships to students interested in public education as a way for them to learn under associates who have experience in the field already.
Ryan Wise, Drake’s Dean of the School of Education, worked closely with Roberts in collaboration alongside many other senior leaders within DMPS.
“One of the most important relationships that I have as dean of the School of Education is with [the] Des Moines Public School [District] as a whole. That I think transcends any individual relationship,” said Wise.
Wise feels as though the progression and focus on the programs Drake has in association with DMPS, such as the teacher intern program, take priority in regard to the betterment of student education.
“Our students here at Drake have the same end in mind,” Wise said. “They want to serve where they meet a need and where they can support students and their families. I think that [mindset] moves [the programs] forward undeterred because that need still exists regardless of any one individual in the system.”
Jack Harrington, a junior at Drake who attended the protest, said that it was “exciting” to see the people mobilizing for the protest.
“It’s a good feeling [knowing] that when ICE is in these communities, for whatever reason, people understand what’s happening and they’re there to push back if they feel what ICE is doing is wrong,” said Harrington.
Despite not having the most favorable opinion of Roberts in his role as superintendent, Harrington participated in the Sept. 28 protest as a response to the presence of ICE in Des Moines.
“The environment itself, I think, [was] angry with what is happening in this community, but ready to stand up for what they [believe in],” Harrington said. “A lot of these people that will start to get picked up by ICE and taken are members of the community that help the community in many ways.”
Harrington said that he sees these protests as a sign that more people are becoming informed of what is happening to the communities within the Des Moines metropolitan area. As more people become aware, he believes that more people are able to find motivation to push back against what they feel is wrong.
Since the protest that Harrington attended, more news has come out about the arrest. In the update given on Oct. 2, 2025, the DMPS board announced the pursuit of legal action against the third-party JG Consulting on their filed vetting of Roberts as a candidate for the position of superintendent. This claim states that the consulting firm had failed to exercise reasonable care in gathering and supplying accurate, verified information regarding Roberts. These claims further surfaced the false reports of Roberts obtaining a doctorate in urban educational leadership from Morgan State University in 2007, which he had claimed on his superintendent application in 2023.
With this in mind, Wise aims to stay true to his role as Dean and focus primarily on providing beneficial programs for the over 35,000 students and staff within the Des Moines Public School District. He, alongside these programs, aims to serve as a constant in a changing world.
“Facts are constantly emerging,” Wise said. “So let’s focus on what we can control, which is providing great instruction as the case may be or developing great teachers, leaders, counselors that will serve DMPS.”
Editor’s note: This information is current as of Oct. 7 at 2 p.m.
This story was originally published on The Times-Delphic on October 8, 2025.
