DOJ Opens Probe Into Des Moines Schools

The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into Des Moines Public Schools in the wake of immigration enforcement agents’ arrest last week of the district’s superintendent, Ian Roberts. 

DOJ says investigators will be looking into whether Iowa’s largest public school system is employing discriminatory DEI initiatives in its hiring practices. 

In a letter sent Tuesday to interim Superintendent Matthew Smith, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote that the probe is based on information that Des Moines Public Schools “may be engaged in employment practices that discriminate against employees, job applicants, and training program participants based on race, color, and national origin in violation of Title VII.” In other words, woke preferences. 

The letter notes the district’s Board Governance Policies, Section 2.0, “Board’s Guardrails for the Superintendent.” The document addresses the District’s Affirmative Action Plan in hiring. Said plan includes race- and color-based teacher recruitment goals to “increase the number of teachers of color” in kindergarten and first grade by 8% and second through fifth grade by 5%.” 

“Accordingly, I have authorized a full investigation to determine whether DMPS is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above,” Dhillon, who heads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, informed the district. She tapped Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Sell to lead the investigation. 

‘Cultivating Equity’

As The Federalist’s Executive Editor Joy Pullmann reported on Tuesday, the district’s current “strategic plan,” which Roberts released in January, calls for “Cultivating Equity & Excellence Through High Quality Teaching & Learning” as the school system’s top priority. 

The plan shows the district is paying an organization called New Leaders “to lead the development of the DMPS Strategic Plan.” As Pullmann noted, New Leaders specializes in hiring and promoting people based on skin color. 

“That is not only unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, but flatly illegal under a new Iowa law banning DEI that went into effect in July,” she wrote. “Looks like Iowa’s attorney general needs to start enforcing this law against an obviously rogue school district run by incompetents.”

Just days into his second term in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order dubbed, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schools.” It takes aim at the DEI agenda embedded in public education, including “Discriminatory equity ideology” and “Gender Ideology Extremism.”

‘Fleeing Federal Law Enforcement’

The DOJ announced the investigation into Des Moines Public Schools four days after law enforcement officials apprehended Roberts for remaining in the country long after his work authorization ran out. 

According to Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Roberts was pulled over Friday in Des Moines in a targeted enforcement operation. After identifying himself to authorities, Roberts sped away, the ICE report states. Officers later discovered his district-owned car abandoned near a wooded area. He was eventually located and taken into ICE custody, the agency reported. Law enforcement officials say he had a loaded handgun, $3,000 in cash and a fixed-blade hunting knife in his possession at the time of the arrest. 

“This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” said Sam Olson, director of  ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in St. Paul.

An immigration law judge had given the Guyana native a final order of removal in May 2024, according to the agency. He did not attend the hearing. Roberts, who came to the U.S. more than 25 years ago on a student visa, has existing weapon possession charges dating back to February 2020, according to ICE. The ATF is currently investigating how Roberts was able to get the loaded handgun, the report states. It is illegal for individuals in the U.S. without legal citizenship status to possess a firearm and ammunition. 

‘Beyond Comprehension’

Roberts formally submitted his resignation letter on Tuesday, with his attorneys vowing they will leave “no stone unturned” to keep the troubled educator from being deported. The Des Moines Board of Education accepted the resignation on Tuesday at a special meeting. 

Roberts had been placed on unpaid leave and his state school administrator’s license has been revoked. 

At a press conference Tuesday, Roberts’ attorney, Alfredo Parrish, claimed his client believed his previous immigration lawyer had resolved his immigration case successfully in April. Apparently that didn’t happen. He is seeking a stay of his deportation and for Roberts’ case to be reopened. 

Parrish called the immigration case “complicated” and that it’s been “juggling through” the system for years. He did not respond to questions about Roberts’ reported gun violations. Parrish couldn’t answer a lot of questions, including how Roberts was hired more than two years ago at a $286,000 annual salary with his immigration status in question. 

“How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district,” Olson said.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley wants answers, too. 

“I am deeply troubled after learning that Ian Andre Roberts, who until his arrest had been superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district, is allegedly an illegal immigrant with a criminal history,” the Republican wrote in a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. 

“Parents in the Des Moines area are understandably concerned about this situation. I am writing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on their behalf to seek more information about Mr. Roberts’ case,” Grassley added. 

He’s seeking further details about Roberts, including his complete criminal and immigration history. Grassley wants to know if DHS knows what work authorization documents, if any, Roberts provided to the school district. And he’s looking for information on ICE’s process for conducting “Form I-9 Inspection/Audit” of employers and whether the department has conducted such an audit at Des Moines Public Schools. 

Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, who represents Des Moines as part of Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, provided KCCI a redacted deportation order showing Roberts did not show up for his 2024 immigration hearing. 

“I want to be clear here. This is something he would have known about as early as May 2024,” Nunn said.

Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.