Records indicate that an illegal migrant with a criminal rap sheet was a registered Democrat voter before being apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Ian Andre Roberts, a Guyanese national living unlawfully in the U.S., was caught with a loaded handgun and thousands of dollars in cash at the time of his apprehension on Friday by ICE agents in Iowa. Not only was the illegal migrant employed as a school superintendent, but a prior speeding ticket ties him to voter registration records in Maryland.
Roberts registered as a Democrat in 2017, according to the official website for the Maryland State Board of Elections. The name, address and birthdate on the election website are an exact match to a speeding ticket Roberts received in July 2024 by an Iowa State Patrol officer which was obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
It’s not immediately clear how Roberts, who overstayed his student visa and lived unlawfully in the U.S. for years, was able to become a registered voter. A spokesperson for the State Board of Elections did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Ian Andre Roberts. DHS image.
“Ian Andre Roberts overstayed a student visa over two decades, but remains an active voter registered in Maryland,” read a Monday statement by the Maryland Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers within the Maryland legislature. “The Maryland Freedom Caucus has repeatedly expressed concerns about the gaping holes in both our immigration enforcement and the integrity of our elections.”
“We are demanding answers about this new ‘Maryland man’ who could live, work and register to vote in our state without ever being flagged by the relevant oversight bodies,” the statement continued.
Roberts first entered the country in 1999 on a student visa and was handed down a final order of removal by an immigration judge in May 2024, according to ICE. The Guyanese man has an existing weapon possession charge from February 2020.
During an enforcement operation in Iowa, ICE officers approached Roberts while he was in his vehicle, but he sped away, according to the agency. Officers later discovered his vehicle abandoned in a wooded area, with agents ultimately taking him into custody thanks to the help of state law enforcement. Roberts possessed a loaded handgun, a fixed blade hunting knife and $3,000 in cash at the time of his arrest.
Law enforcement officials have been left wondering how Roberts, an illegal migrant with a weapon possession charge, was able to obtain employment as a superintendent of a major public school system.
“This suspect was arrested in possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle provided by Des Moines Public Schools after fleeing federal law enforcement,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson said on Friday. “How this illegal alien was hired without work authorization, a final order of removal, and a prior weapons charge is beyond comprehension and should alarm the parents of that school district.”
A spokesperson for the Des Moines Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
Revelations over Robert’s apparent voter registration come as the Trump administration continues to crack down on election integrity.
Earlier in September, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sued six different states for alleged failures to hand over voter registration data. The DOJ has also taken Oregon, Maine and Orange County, California, to court over voter registration data, and recently dropped a lawsuit against the North Carolina State Board upon being satisfied with the board’s progress on removing names from voter registration lists that lack sufficient information.
The Trump administration unveiled a new feature for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in May, allowing state and local officials to input Social Security numbers for verification of U.S. citizenship, helping prevent foreign nationals from participating in federal elections.
“Democrats have said directly that illegal aliens are not voting,” Maryland Delegate Robin Grammar said in a public statement. “The reality is they created a system that allows it, observed the data that proves it is happening, and are fighting to cover it up.”
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