Contrary to the law — and claims that non-citizens and illegal immigrants cannot vote — it appears the former Des Moines, Iowa, Superintendent of Schools Ian Andre Roberts, who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had registered as a Democrat in Maryland.
On September 26, 2025, Roberts, a Guyanese national who headed the Des Moines Public Schools, was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents pursued Roberts after he sped away, Fox News reported.
Roberts allegedly abandoned his vehicle and was found approximately 200 yards away from the car.
Inside the vehicle, officers found $3,000 in cash, a loaded handgun, and a fixed-blade hunting knife, according to a statement from ICE.
Roberts had a final order of removal and no work authorization.
Roberts has existing weapon possession charges from February 5, 2020. Roberts entered the United States in 1999 on a student visa and was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May of 2024. It is a violation of federal law for those in the U.S. without legal status to possess a firearm and ammunition.
“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 ICE ERO St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson in the release. “This should be a wake-up call for our communities to the great work that our officers are doing every day to remove public safety threats. 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.”
Additionally, Fox News reports that the official website for the Maryland State Board of Elections shows Roberts has an active voter status and is registered as a Democrat in Maryland.
“Republican state Delegate Matt Morgan, who is chair of the Maryland House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital that Roberts’ registration means that he is eligible to vote in all federal, state, and local elections despite not being a U.S. citizen, and also despite likely not having lived in Maryland for the past decade,” the story reads.
The state of Iowa revoked Roberts’s education license on Sunday, triggering the Des Moines School Board to place him on unpaid leave.
The Kansas Legislature has been taking an interest in election integrity — most recently overriding Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 4, which established deadlines for advance voting during the last legislative session.
