The illegal immigrant who served as the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district has a lengthy rap sheet going back nearly two decades, the Department of Homeland Security revealed Friday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Andre Roberts of Guyana last week after he received a deportation order in May 2024, according to ICE.

Roberts was most recently hit with federal charges for allegedly being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm following his latest arrest, where he was caught with a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash, and a fixed-blade hunting knife after he tried to flee the scene, according to DHS.

“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,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement following the latest revelation on Roberts’ criminal record.

“When ICE officers arrested this Superintendent, he was in possession of an illegal handgun, a hunting knife, and nearly $3,000 in cash. This criminal illegal alien is now in U.S. Marshals custody and facing charges for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children FIRST.”

Credit: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Roberts first came to the United States in 1994 as a tourist, before acquiring a student visa in 1999, according to DHS.

It wasn’t long before Roberts found himself wrapped up with the law in the United States.

On July 3, 1996, Roberts was charged with criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery device, and possession of a forged instrument in New York, according to DHS.

Two years later, he faced a charge for third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle in Queens, New York, which was later dismissed.

Roberts was convicted for reckless driving, unsafe operation, and speeding in Maryland on November 1, 2012, DHS said.

He then faced charges in 2020 for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon (having a loaded firearm outside his home or business); third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (an ammunition feeding device); and fourth-degree weapon charges.

Roberts was convicted in 2022 of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in Pennsylvania, according to DHS.

The ex-superintendent tried to apply for a green card four different times and was denied on each attempt.

His employment authorization expired on December 18, 2020, roughly three years before he was hired for his latest role in Des Moines, according to DHS.

He also failed to appear at his latest hearing, where an immigration judge ordered his removal from the United States, according to DHS.

Des Moines Public Schools hired the firm JG Consulting to recruit possible superintendent candidates in December 2022, the school district said. The firm used the company Baker-Eubanks to conduct a background check into Roberts, which the district said “found nothing related to citizenship or immigration matters related” to him.

However, a spokesman for Baker-Eubanks recently told The Daily Wire that “all publicly available criminal records” were shared with the school district, which “ultimately chose to proceed with the hire despite having received” the concerning history.

The school district is now suing JG Consulting, saying it failed to properly vet Roberts.

Syrian-born terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie was awaiting trial on rape charges when he killed two people in a Yom Kippur synagogue attack in England on Thursday, U.K. outlets reported.

Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by law enforcement minutes after he rammed his car into a crowd outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester and attacked worshippers with a knife during the holiest Jewish holiday of the year, leaving two dead and three seriously injured.

The Syrian native, who moved to the U.K. as a teenager, was due to appear in court for a rape understood to have taken place earlier this year in Manchester, according to the Telegraph.

“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism, but he definitely had a criminal record, though nothing to suggest he was going to do anything like this,” a police source told The Guardian.

But Al-Shamie had sent death threats to Conservative parliament member John Howell in 2012 after the MP defended Israel’s right to self-defense, requiring Howell to employ police protection. One email from Jihad Al-Shamie read, “It is people like you who deserve to die,” the Telegraph reported.

Al-Shamie’s father had previously praised Hamas after the terror group’s October 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 Israelis, the New York Post reported.

In the hours and days following the attack, Islamists and anti-Israel activists flooded U.K. streets, calling for Israel’s destruction and setting off fireworks.

Pro-Pals took over the streets of central London last night. Set off fireworks in the busiest parts. Chanted for Israel’s destruction. And I don’t see a single police officer. So do racist thugs run our capital now? It’s like a nightmare dystopia. @metpoliceuk pic.twitter.com/AA6VqwNQ4K

— Heidi Bachram 🎗️ (@HeidiBachram) October 2, 2025

The synagogue attack comes weeks after the U.K. Labour government accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, a move many have pointed to as potentially fueling further hatred toward Jews.

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Leader of the U.K. Reform Party Nigel Farage echoed these sentiments, condemning both the street celebrations and the Starmer government’s weak response.

“The whole Jewish community in Britain [is] now deeply fearful. Within just a few hours of this horrific incident, we saw … pro-Palestinian flags on the streets, people out, previously unplanned, demonstrating. But here’s the truth of it, they weren’t demonstrating, they were actually celebrating,” Farage said on X. “I can’t even imagine we’ve ever seen such vile scenes on our streets, certainly not in my lifetime.”

Farage blasted British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, a staunch anti-Israel activist, for her tepid response to the violence against Jews.

“In response to this, the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, says she’s disappointed. Disappointed. That’s the most the Home Secretary can say,” Farage continued. “Well, I hope all of you watching this video are outraged, outraged, and frankly frightened. This is broken Britain. This is evidence of societal breakdown. It is deeply worrying and very frightening.”

Farage also criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state and warned about an upcoming protest planned for Saturday in London.

“There is a big, big march planned in London this Saturday. And I think the only way we can describe it is a hate march,” Farage said. “I must admit, saying this now to you today, I feel more worried about the state of broken Britain than I ever have before.”