Lessons learned from the illegal school superintendent

On September 26th, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested an illegal alien in Des Moines, Iowa. The man had an existing final order of removal, no work authorization, and a criminal history. This wouldn’t be news on its own, but the man was working as the Superintendent for the largest school district in Iowa at the time of his arrest.

The arrested man, Ian Andre Roberts, fled police police, abandoned his car in the woods, and was carrying a loaded firearm, hunting knife, and $3,000 in cash at the time of his apprehension. Roberts had an existing weapons charge against him dating back to 2020. In 2023, the Des Moines School Board learned that Roberts had falsely claimed a doctoral degree, but they hired him anyway. He was also an Olympian who competed for Guyana in the 2000 Sydney Games.

More fascinating details are bound to be revealed, but two are particularly important when considering the policy response to this case:

• Roberts overstayed his student visa; and
• The Des Moines public school system did not E-Verify Roberts’ work eligibility.

H.R. 2 would address visa overstays and illegal hiring

The Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 2) passed the House in the last Congress. The Senate refused to take it up. This Congress has set aside “H.R. 2” as a promise to reintroduce the legislation in this Congress. Republican leadership in the House, however, has yet to do so. Among the reforms we would expect to see in a reintroduced bill are:

• New, increased penalties for overstaying a visa (to match penalties for entering the U.S. illegally); and
• Mandatory E-Verify

Hundreds of thousands of people overstay their visas every year. Student visa holders have high overstay rates. Increased penalties and E-Verify should be mandatory for all (whether you arrive with a visa or cross the border) and we need Congress to reintroduce and pass H.R. 2 for future generations to be protected against illegal aliens who take opportunities from Americans.