from the but-what-will-ICE-learn-from-this dept
Lots has occurred since final week when my publish about Des Moines (IA) college superintendent Ian Roberts being arrested by ICE first hit the entrance web page right here at Techdirt. Lots of new info has come to gentle, virtually all of it obtained by Des Moines Register journalists, which signifies the arrested man could not have been the person he pretended to be (a authorized migrant with solely the slightest quantity of earlier authorized troubles).
He very a lot seemed to be the particular person others thought he was, although. And whereas that’s one thing, it’s definitely not sufficient to make a bunch of previous legal fees and a few discrepancies on his academic historical past fully irrelevant. Roberts doesn’t look like a con artist and really appears to have been a really well-liked and revered college administrator. However that doesn’t excuse the route he took to get there.
It additionally doesn’t excuse any of the unsuitable assumptions I made in my authentic publish. I don’t take pleasure in being unsuitable and I don’t exit of my option to make careless errors, however typically it occurs. And for that, I apologize. Readers belief this website to supply them with info and clever evaluation. My publish didn’t have sufficient of both.
My assumptions have been the issue right here. The publish itself is linked to a number of sources and incorporates loads of direct quotes from individuals about Ian Roberts, in addition to ICE’s personal press launch concerning the arrest. I drew the conclusion that the mugshot launched by ICE couldn’t probably be the identical particular person ICE arrested, however it’s undoubtedly doable that I received that unsuitable.
I additionally advised ICE’s timeline by way of legal fees and immigration incidents didn’t line up with the info. It nonetheless appears to be off, however that very effectively might be as a result of Ian Roberts’ bio (at the least as introduced to varsities he attended, in addition to these hiring him in Des Moines) might need some factual holes of its personal.
I’ll run down the current findings by Des Moines journalists so you’ll be able to weigh that in opposition to the assertions and assumptions I made in my publish. However I have to level out that loads of that is drawn from the DHS’s launch of Roberts’ legal file, a few of which has but to be independently verified. (I’ll additionally level out the apparent: that is hardly the kind of rap sheet that ought to end in somebody being known as the “worst of the worst” and who ought to “by no means have been in a position to work round youngsters,” as DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claims within the DHS press launch.)
- July 3, 1996: Expenses for legal possession of narcotics with intent to promote, legal possession of narcotics, legal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a cast instrument in New York.
- Nov. 13, 1998: A cost for third-degree unauthorized use of a automobile in Queens, New York, which was dismissed July 6, 1999.
- Nov. 1, 2012: A conviction for reckless driving, unsafe operation and dashing in Maryland.
- Feb. 3, 2020: Expenses for second-degree legal possession of a weapon (having a loaded firearm outdoors his house or enterprise); third-degree legal possession of a weapon (an ammunition feeding gadget); and fourth-degree weapon fees. A doc from Feb. 4, 2020, signifies that the second-degree legal possession cost was inchoate.
- Jan. 20, 2022: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania convicted Roberts of illegal possession of a loaded firearm.
- Sept. 26, 2025: Roberts was arrested with a Glock 9mm pistol and a fixed-blade searching knife in his possession. He additionally had $3,000 in money.
- Oct. 2, 2025: Roberts criminally charged with being an unlawful alien in possession of firearms.
The final two fees are from his arrest by federal officers final week. The earlier fees are a mix of weapons fees and shifting violations. “Third diploma unauthorized use of a automobile” is a flowery method of claiming “borrowed mother’s automobile with out permission” or “drove an organization automobile house throughout a lunch break.”
As for the weapons fees, that’s extra problematic. Roberts’ bio states he’s an avid hunter, which could clarify him having weapons in locations he wasn’t presupposed to, however doesn’t clarify how he had any weapons within the first place, if he wasn’t legally allowed to have them. However nothing in that listing (aside from the legal possession cost that by no means materialized) suggests it was unlawful for him to have them, solely that he shouldn’t have had them the place he had them and/or the after-market merchandise that made them unlawful.
Nonetheless, you’d suppose a screening for a place involving managing colleges would have raised extra pink flags than it did, which might be why the college district is now suing the third-party that performs employment screenings.
The DHS press launch additionally provides up an inventory of his actions in and in another country. However the listing doesn’t actually say a lot aside from Roberts entered and exited the nation often, with among the dates aligning with visa expirations. The listing additionally reveals Roberts dutifully utilized for some type of authorized standing when re-entering the US (if the earlier authorization had expired), which doesn’t do a lot for DHS’s narrative that Roberts was not solely a gun-carrying menace to public security however routinely ignored his obligations on the authorized residence entrance. The truth is, it states the alternative. When he was arrested (and that is based mostly on DHS’s unverified assertions), he had most definitely solely been within the nation illegally since April 24 of this yr.
So, whereas he’s not the choirboy I could have introduced him as, he’s undoubtedly not the kind of harmful legal ICE ought to be centered on. He has, in reality, obtained a number of levels. He was revered and favored whereas he was nonetheless a faculty superintendent. He was a former Olympic athlete who appeared to have discovered one thing he might do effectively and — even given the listing supplied by the DHS — had not been in any critical (or unserious) authorized hassle for the previous 5 years.
That being mentioned, I’m not right here to let myself off the hook. With ICE doing what it’s doing day after day, it’s extraordinarily simple to imagine the worst and simply run with it. Clearly, not each arrest ICE performs is unjustified. And the federal government will nonetheless spherical up some individuals who really should be arrested and deported on account of their legal exercise.
However, at this level, really justified arrests by ICE are simply the results of it spamming so-called “enforcement efforts” which can be the last word instance of biased policing. Arrest sufficient individuals of any race, shade, or creed and also you’re sure to finish up catching the occasional “worst of the worst.” However that’s not how America is meant to work. The federal government is meant to restrain itself, respect rights, and carry out cautious investigations. This authorities does none of that.
As a substitute, this administration has shrugged off — if not outright rejected — the guiding rules of governance. Each day, it steamrolls rights, ignores court docket orders, arrests individuals en masse simply because they’re the unsuitable race, and is doing this not only for the quick impact, however to make sure it has burned the Republic to the bottom and salted the earth earlier than Trump exits workplace… one thing that’s undoubtedly not assured. ICE has been unleashed and inspired to be the worst it may be. And now that it’s executed that, it’s being showered with billions in tax {dollars} and exempted from the federal government shutdown the administration is utilizing as an excuse to fireplace any authorities staff DOGE didn’t get round to shitcanning previous to Elon Musk exiting the administration and promising to start out his personal bigoted political social gathering.
ICE doesn’t get let off the hook simply because I made a decision to provide myself a headstart over the info. And I understand that admitting fault in public simply encourages individuals who argue in dangerous religion to take action extra often sooner or later. The federal government (and its vocal supporters) will at all times be the primary to search out fault in any insufficient or inaccurate reporting and use that to smear a complete vocation. If I get one thing unsuitable, I’ll admit it. This administration won’t ever give the general public the identical respect. When others are unsuitable, they’re pilloried. When this authorities is unsuitable, it chooses responsible everybody else when not selecting to easily double down on its wrongness.
We don’t try this right here. We recognize you giving us your consideration and can at all times try to earn your respect and loyalty. My apologies for blowing this one. And I can be extra cautious sooner or later.
Filed Beneath: des moines college district, dhs, ian roberts, ice, mass deportation, trump administration
