Des Moines college board chair drops Senate race over unlawful immigrant rent

[ad_1] NEW Now you can take heed to Fox Information articles!

Des Moines Public Faculty Board (DMPS) Chair Jackie Norris ended her bid for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat Thursday after dealing with backlash for urging "radical empathy" towards former superintendent and unlawful immigrant Ian Andre Roberts.

Norris, a Democrat who beforehand served as first woman Michelle Obama’s chief of employees, mentioned the "superintendent disaster" demanded her full consideration as board chair and put her "within the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated assaults."

"These realities took time and oxygen away from the work I got down to do: get up for our youngsters and households — and the spine of our communities, their educators and caregivers ," Norris wrote in an announcement.

Jackie Norris labored as Michelle Obama's chief of employees within the White Home. (Getty Photographs)

SCHOOL CHIEF TO SUSPECT: ICE ARREST OF DES MOINES SUPERINTENDENT EXPOSES FAKE DEGREES, DRUG CONVICTIONS

Roberts, the previous superintendent of Iowa's largest college district, has an intensive felony historical past and was residing and dealing in the U.S. illegally.

He submitted his resignation Sept. 30, after his Sept. 26 arrest by immigration authorities, which concerned a brief automobile chase.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mentioned brokers allegedly discovered a gun, searching knife and $3,000 in money in his automobile.

<source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/343/192/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/686/384/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="192" width="343"><source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/672/378/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1344/756/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/931/523/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1862/1046/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"><source media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/720/405/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1440/810/superintendent-iowa-ian-roberts-arrested-jg-consulting-search-firm-sued.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="405" width="720"> Former Des Moines Public Colleges District Superintendent Ian Roberts, proper, was arrested final month after fleeing from federal immigration brokers. (Des Moines Impartial Neighborhood Faculty District; Polk County Sheriff)

DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD ACCEPTS SUPERINTENDENT'S RESIGNATION AFTER ICE ARREST

Federal officers say Roberts, who illegally returned to the U.S. from Guyana in 1999 after a theft and drug arrest, was convicted in 2012 of reckless driving, unsafe operation and dashing in Maryland.

In 2020, he was charged with second-degree felony possession of a weapon , third-degree felony possession of a weapon and fourth-degree weapon fees.

Regardless of overstaying visas on a number of events and being ordered deported in 2004 and 2024, he holds lively voter standing and is a registered Democrat in Maryland.

Roberts is charged with being an unlawful alien in possession of firearms, based on authorities.

Authorities mentioned a handgun was present in a car utilized by Ian Roberts to flee from pursuing ICE brokers. (ICE)

IOWA SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT ARRESTED BY ICE, FACING PRIOR WEAPONS CHARGES, ALLEGEDLY FOUND WITH LOADED HANDGUN

The board mentioned when Roberts was employed in July 2023, they knew he didn't graduate from Morgan State College, as he claimed in his resume.

It's unclear in the event that they knew about his unlawful immigration standing or felony report.

Norris' opponent, Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, referred to as for her resignation and exit from the Senate race, claiming she "cannot even run the naked minimal of hiring requirements on the Des Moines Public Colleges."

In Norris' announcement ending her marketing campaign, she mentioned the college board "stepped up and are bringing accountability—main with grace, transparency, and resolve."

"It’s clear I have to concentrate on the work at hand: main the board by means of this transition, working to assist the passage of the Reimagining Schooling bond, and absolutely taking part in ongoing investigations to get the solutions our neighborhood deserves," Norris wrote. "I depart this race with my head excessive, and I’ll proceed serving my neighborhood and doing the whole lot I can to assist Democrats win this seat."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The varsity board didn't instantly reply to Fox Information Digital's request for remark.

Norris' workplace declined additional remark.

Fox Information Digital's Stephanie Samsel and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox Information Digital journalist who covers breaking information, with a concentrate on high-impact occasions that form nationwide dialog.

She has lined main nationwide crises, together with the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror assault, and Texas Hill Nation floods.