The superintendent of the schools of Des Moines, Iowa was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Friday Morning, the district announced in a message to students’ families.
The detention was first reported by the Des Moines Register and weareiowa.com.
A message from Des Moines School Board Chair Jackie Norris said Associate Superintendent Matt Smith will step as interim superintendent, the Register reported.
“We have no confirmed information as to why Dr. Roberts is being detained or the next potential steps,” the release states.
The announcement came after ICE was reported conducting enforcement action on the city’s south side.
Roberts, 51, has been superintendent of schools in Des Moines since 2023. He was a world-class track and field athlete, competing in the 2000 Olympics for Guyana. He ran for St. John’s University in New York, where he competed in the Big East Conference winning several championships, and making the NCAA finals in 1999.
According to his LinkedIn profile, he began his career in education as a teacher in Baltimore in 2001, working his way up to administration there by 2007. He has held administrative roles in Washington, DC; St. Louis; Oakland; and Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania, where he served as superintendent before moving to Des Moines.
The Register reported Friday that online records indicate Roberts is in ICE custody in the Pottawattamie County Jail.
