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 superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa, pleaded guilty in federal court on Thursday to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on federal employment forms and illegally possessing firearms as an unlawful alien.
He initially pleaded not guilty and had a trial set for March. Now, he’s facing a combined maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Not to mention, potential deportation after serving any potential sentence handed down.
Roberts was arrested by ICE in September for illegally overstaying a 1999 student visa. Previous reporting indicated that he had been registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland since 2012. The Maryland State Board of Elections previously claimed that, despite the registration, Roberts did not actually vote in elections.
The 35-year-old native of Guyana in South America admitted, according to court documents obtained by Fox News, to making a false statement by attesting to U.S. citizenship on his Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9) form when he was hired by the district in 2023.
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
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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