Former Iowa superintendent pleads guilty to falsely claiming US citizenship

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Former Iowa superintendent pleads guilty to falsely claiming US citizenship

2026-01-23 06:38 Last Updated At：06:50

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district pleaded guilty Thursday, and admitted to falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen on a federal form and illegally possessing firearms.

Ian Roberts, a native of Guyana in South America, had initially pleaded not guilty to both counts, which together carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a trial was scheduled to begin in early March. Roberts affirmed Thursday that he's aware his guilty pleas could have an impact on his immigration case and that he could face immediate deportation after he serves his sentence.

Roberts ascended as an exuberant and inspiring leader over a two-decade career in urban education. For two years, he was superintendent of the Des Moines public school district, which serves 30,000 students.

Just weeks into a new school year, Roberts was detained by federal immigration officers. The Sept. 26 arrest stunned community members and drew national attention to his history of criminal charges and falsified credentials.

On Thursday, Roberts walked into the courtroom with his wrists and feet cuffed. He addressed U.S. Magistrate Judge Helen C. Adams cordially and simply as he acknowledged he understood his rights and the details of his plea agreement, which he had in front of him. Roberts put on eyeglasses to follow along.

“It is my signature, your honor,” he said of the signed agreement, and later confirmed it was “my decision” to sign it.

As part of Roberts’ plea agreement, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa agreed to not pursue additional charges against Roberts or others related to these counts, according to the filing. Prosecutors also agreed to recommend some leniency, but Roberts’ sentence is ultimately up to U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger. That hearing is scheduled for May 29.

Alfredo Parrish, one of Roberts’ attorneys, told reporters after the hearing that Roberts “wanted to accept responsibility and that’s what he did,” though Parrish said personally that the moment was “not one of the happiest” in his long legal career.

In a targeted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, Roberts was pulled over in his school-issued Jeep Cherokee and allegedly fled from federal agents. They later found the car abandoned near a wooded area and located Roberts with the help of state troopers. Authorities said a loaded handgun was wrapped in a towel under the seat and there was $3,000 in cash in the car.

A federal grand jury in October returned a two-count indictment. According to the plea agreement, Roberts admits he knowingly and intentionally made a “false attestation” that he was a U.S. citizen on the Employment Eligibility Verification form, known as an I-9, that he submitted in Des Moines. Roberts answered: “Yes, your honor” when asked by the federal judge if that statement on the I-9 was, in fact, false.

That carries a punishment of up to five years in prison and a fine.

Roberts also faces a federal weapons charge, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine. In addition to the one in his vehicle when he was arrested, a second pistol, a rifle and a shotgun were found during a search of Roberts’ home, authorities said.

Roberts will forfeit the weapons, according to the agreement.

Roberts completed the I-9 form when he was hired in 2023 and submitted a Social Security card and driver’s license as verifying documents, according to the district. He also stated he was a U.S. citizen in his application to the state board of educational examiners, which issued Roberts a professional administrator license in 2023.

Phil Roeder, a spokesperson for Des Moines Public Schools, declined to comment on Roberts’ legal proceedings. The district’s focus “remains on serving the educational needs of students,” he said in a statement.

Roberts was subject to a notice to appear before an immigration judge in October 2020, just months before his work authorization was set to expire, and a final removal order in 2024, authorities said. District officials said they were not aware of the immigration issues.

Parrish has said his client was under the impression from a prior attorney that his immigration case was “resolved successfully." During Thursday's hearing, Parrish mentioned that advice of prior counsel as one of the lines of defense he had discussed with Roberts.

Parrish also said they had discussed arguing to dismiss the firearms charge, citing ongoing court cases addressing Second Amendment rights and telling reporters later that it’s an area of the law “in flux." Parrish said during the hearing that one argument in Roberts' favor could have been possession of firearms for self defense, saying Roberts had gotten threats as superintendent that he had reported to law enforcement.

Parrish told reporters Thursday that the sentencing hearing “will be most important,” adding that he will address factors that are likely to impact the court's decision.

British Prime Minister Starmer faces angry lawmakers over Mandelson's appointment as ambassador

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will try on Monday to get a grip on a crisis that has left power slipping from his grasp.

Starmer will face a tough barrage of questions in Parliament when he stands up to explain why Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished politician and friend of Jeffrey Epstein, became Britain’s ambassador to Washington despite failing security checks — and seemingly without Starmer being told about the concerns.

The revelation has left furious opponents calling for Starmer to resign and uneasy allies wondering what else the nation’s leader didn’t know about.

Starmer repeatedly told lawmakers that “due process” was followed when Mandelson was appointed. He now says he’s “furious” that he wasn’t informed that an intensive vetting process had recommended Mandelson not be given security clearance. The Foreign Office, which oversees diplomatic appointments, cleared him anyway.

“The fact that I wasn’t told that Peter Mandelson had failed his security vetting when he was appointed is astonishing,” Starmer told the Daily Mirror. “The fact that I wasn’t told when I said to Parliament that due process had been followed is unforgivable.”

Starmer fired the top Foreign Office civil servant, Olly Robbins, within hours of the revelation by The Guardian last week. But allies of Robbins say he would never have been able to share sensitive vetting information with the prime minister.

Robbins is expected to give his own version of events to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

All the main opposition parties have called on Starmer to resign. Right-of-center Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said in the Mail on Sunday that he had “misled Parliament over Mandelson, misled the country and is taking the public for fools.”

Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, said Starmer had “showed catastrophic misjudgment.”

Senior government colleagues have defended the prime minister. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said that if Starmer had known about the failed security vetting, “he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador.”

But lawmakers in Starmer’s center-left Labour Party, already anxious about the party’s dire poll ratings, are restive. Starmer has already defused one potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers urged him to resign over the Mandelson appointment.

He could face a new challenge is, as expected, Labour takes a hammering in local and regional elections on May 7, which give voters a chance to pass a midterm verdict on the government.

Critics say the Mandelson appointment is more evidence of a failure of judgment by a prime minister who has made repeated missteps since he led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024. Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and has been forced into repeated policy U-turns.

He picked Mandelson for one of Britain’s most important diplomatic jobs despite being warned by his staff that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, exposed the government to “reputational risk.”

Mandelson’s business links to Russia and China also set off alarm bells. But his expertise as a former European Union trade chief and contacts among global elites were considered assets in dealing with President Donald Trump’s administration.

He lasted less than nine months in the job. Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after evidence emerged that he had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.

A trove of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January included emails suggesting Mandelson had passed on sensitive, and potentially market-moving, government information to Epstein in 2009 after the global financial crisis.

British police launched a criminal probe and arrested Mandelson in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.