Dr. Ian Andre Roberts is a veteran educator and former Olympian who served as a principal in Baltimore City Schools.
His arrest on Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent shockwaves through Des Moines, Iowa, where he has been a superintendent for the past two years.
Now, Roberts is in ICE custody, and his future is uncertain.
Baltimore ties
Dr. Roberts graduated from Coppin State University in 1998.
“I am awakened every day believing that each day gives me an opportunity to be a blessing to someone and leave an indelible impact on many people,” he said in a school profile.
Roberts, a native of Guyana, is Coppin’s first Olympic athlete.
He was the founding principal of Friendship Academy of Science and Technology in Baltimore and served as the Director of School Turnaround and principal of the Academies at Anacostia High School in Washington, D.C.
“My steps have been divinely guided during the past thirty years, and I am confident that they will continue to be guided,” he said in the Coppin article. “One day, I hope to return to my birthplace of Guyana, South America, as a public servant.”
The arrest
ICE took Dr. Roberts into custody on Friday morning in Iowa. Officials said he was in the United States illegally, had a prior weapons charge, and was found with a loaded gun after fleeing police.
“Next thing you know, I’m hearing, ‘Come out with your hands up,'” said one witness.
“What we do know is Dr. Roberts has been an integral part of our school community since he joined more than two years ago,” said Jackie Norris, chair of the Des Moines school board, at a Friday afternoon news conference
Des Moines’ interim superintendent Matt Smith said, “We stand firm with our community. Many of whom are feeling sad, outraged, and helpless. We understand, as we too our devastated by the news of his detainment.”
Roberts’ arrest touched off protests in Iowa.