After an illegal alien with a criminal history working as a school superintendent in Des Moines was arrested by ICE, instead of being concerned about how he was hired, MSNBC hosts Alex Witt and Rachel Maddow presented the case sympathetically toward him, with Maddow even lauding him as “beloved.”

When Witt brought up the story on Sunday afternoon, she blurred it with a recent case in Manhattan in which a woman was questionably shoved by an ICE agent resulting in him being taken off duty.

Speaking with Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D-OH), Witt first alluded to the Manhattan case:

Something we saw this past week pretty disturbing — that ICE agent shoving an Ecuadorian woman to the floor in an immigration courthouse here in Manhattan — he has been relieved of his duties.

She then tied in the Des Moines arrest as if the superintendent, Ian Andre Roberts, were mistreated:

We also saw the arrest of Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district — this over allegations he’s in the country illegally. He’s been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted. But what do incidents like these tell you about the administration’s agenda going after criminals in this country illegally because that is the stated goal?

In her response, the Ohio Democrat claimed that most ICE detainees do not have criminal records and that the agency has been “lawless and reckless” and that they “ignore the process” under President Donald Trump.

When Maddow briefly covered the story on her eponymous Monday night, she was even more sympathetic:

In Des Moines, Iowa, literally thousands of people turned out late last week in a big, spontaneous angry protest when Trump’s immigration agents arrested the beloved superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools. He’s currently being imprisoned in a jail in Sioux City, Iowa, and this weekend people protested in support of him there as well.

But when Fox first covered the story on Friday’s Special Report with Bret Baier, fill-in host Gillian Turner informed viewers that Roberts had a criminal history:

This is a bit of a shocker. The superintendent of the Des Moines, Iowa, public school system is under arrest tonight. Immigration agents say Ian Andre Roberts is a criminal illegal alien hailing from Guyana.

They say he was carrying a loaded handgun, a fixed blade hunting knife, and 3,000 bucks in cash. He’s also apparently got an existing weapons charge dating from 2020. Agents say Roberts entered the country on a student visa back in 1999, and he was then ordered removed by an immigration judge in May of last year.

Fox host Trace Gallagher noted on Tuesday’s Fox News at Night that Roberts tried to flee when he was arrested.

Transcripts follow:

Fox’s Special Report with Bret Baier

September 26, 2025

6:26 p.m. Eastern

GILLIAN TURNER: This is a bit of a shocker. The superintendent of the Des Moines, Iowa, public school system is under arrest tonight. Immigration agents say Ian Andre Roberts is a criminal illegal alien hailing from Guyana. They say he was carrying a loaded handgun, a fixed blade hunting knife, and 3,000 bucks in cash. He’s also apparently got an existing weapons charge dating from 2020. Agents say Roberts entered the country on a student visa back in 1999, and he was then ordered removed by an immigration judge in May of last year.

(…)

MSNBC’s Alex Witt Reports

September 28, 2025

1:41 p.m. Eastern

ALEX WITT: Something we saw this past week pretty disturbing — that ICE agent shoving an Ecuadorian woman to the floor in an immigration courthouse here in Manhattan — he has been relieved of his duties.

We also saw the arrest of Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district — this over allegations he’s in the country illegally. He’s been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted. But what do incidents like these tell you about the administration’s agenda going after criminals in this country illegally because that is the stated goal?

CONGRESSWOMAN SHONTEL BROWN (R-OH): Well, let me share some interesting statistics. Public data shows that 65 percent of the detained by — the people being detained by ICE this year have no criminal charges, and 93 percent have no violent offenses. So this again is something that he has failed to deliver on when he campaigned. So ICE has been lawless and reckless under President Trump.

Of course we need immigration enforcement, and we need to focus on violent criminals, but that does not give ICE a blank check to be able to ignore the process, ignore the Constitution, and run around behind masks. So we will continue to use our authority on the Oversight Committee to subpoena and demand transparency as it relates to the operation of these agencies.

WITT: Okay. Ohio Congresswoman Shontel Brown, thank you so much.

(…)

MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show

September 29, 2025

9:22 p.m. Eastern

RACHEL MADDOW: In Des Moines, Iowa, literally thousands of people turned out late last week in a big, spontaneous angry protest when trump’s immigration agents arrested the beloved superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools. He’s currently being imprisoned in a jail in Sioux City, Iowa, and this weekend people protested in support of him there as well.