Des Moines school board chair ends U.S. Senate campaign amid superintendent controversy

By Dan McCaleb
The Center Square

Des Moines, Iowa, school board chair Jackie Norris ended her campaign for U.S. Senate Thursday, citing her need to focus on the school system in the aftermath of its superintendent being charged by immigration agents for being in the country illegally.

Norris and other school board members faced heavy criticism when their now former superintendent, Guyanan national Ian Andre Roberts, was arrested by immigration officials. When ICE ERO-Des Moines officers approached him on school property, Roberts sped away in his taxpayer-funded DMPS vehicle to evade arrest, ICE said. Officers later found the vehicle abandoned near a wooded area The Center Square reported. Iowa State Patrol assisted with locating and arresting him, authorities said. He remains in ICE custody.

Robert had been living in the U.S. illegally without federal work authorization. Roberts also had an extensive criminal history dating to 1996, The Center Square reported.

“Those realities took time and oxygen away from the work I set out to do: stand up for our kids and families — and the backbone of our communities, their educators and caregivers,” Norris wrote on social media announcing her departure.

Norris, a Democrat who previously served as the former chief of staff to former First Lady Michelle Obama, was running for the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican.

The Des Moines Public School System is also being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, The Center Square reported.

Earlier this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE released Roberts’ criminal and immigration history, stating they “reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States. He should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.”

Four other candidates remain in the race to secure the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. Four Republicans also are running in the GOP primary.