From Time magazine,
ICE Arrested a Beloved School Superintendent. The Community Rallied Behind Him.
U.S. immigration laws do not apply to the beloved. Everyone knows this.
You may recall my series on Wilson Tindi, the convicted felon, illegal immigrant, senior bureaucrat at the Minnesota Department of Education.
Likewise, the case of Dr. Ian Roberts, superintendent of Des Moines public schools, raises similar troubling questions. How did an illegal immigrant with pending gun charges get appointed to such high positions across the American educational establishment?
How many more Tindis and Roberts are there? Does anyone do any background checks, anymore?
None of those questions matter, according to Time,
To those who know him, Superintendent Ian Roberts is an “integral part” of the school community and a former principal of the year. But to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he is a “criminal alien” and a threat to public safety.
As I understand it, over the years, Roberts has given conflicting accounts of his age, his origins, and his educational achievements. So, for “those who know him,” what do they know?
ICE said Roberts sped away in his vehicle when officers approached him, abandoning his vehicle near a wooded area. He was later arrested with a loaded handgun, ICE said, a violation of federal law for those in the U.S. without legal status.
So who qualifies as the “community” eligible to pass judgement on Roberts?
The case appeared to have caught the local school district by surprise. School Board Chair Jackie Norris said Friday that the district was still working to learn more about what happened, and called for the community to practice “radical empathy” while the investigation was ongoing.
“Radical empathy” sounds incompatible with either due diligence on the front end or an ex post investigation.
The Des Moines Register reported this evening,
Des Moines school board votes to put Superintendent Ian Roberts on leave after ICE arrest.
Details,
The Des Moines Public Schools School Board has unanimously voted to put Superintendent Ian Roberts on administrative leave following his arrest by ICE on Sept. 26.
The Des Moines School Board met in closed session Sept. 27 to discuss Roberts’ status and then voted in open session to put him on leave.
Seems redundant given that Roberts is currently in ICE custody and (presumably) on his way back to his native Guyana.
