by Benjamin Roberts
A Democratic Senate candidate ended her campaign Thursday as her school board continues to grapple with the fallout from the arrest of its superintendent by immigration authorities.
Jackie Norris, who currently chairs the Des Moines Public School Board, has reportedly suspended her campaign for the Democratic nomination for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat. announcement she posted on social media. The decision follows nationwide uproar over the arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of an undocumented immigrant who somehow managed to get hired as a school district superintendent.
“After careful consideration, I have decided that I will no longer be a candidate for U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary,” Norris announced in an online announcement.
“The recent Des Moines Public Schools principal crisis demanded my full attention as board chair and overnight placed the school board, our community and me personally under the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated attacks,” Norris continued. “To that end, it is clear that I must focus on the work at hand: leading the board through the transition, supporting the rollout of the Reimagining Education initiative, and participating fully in ongoing investigations to get the answers our community deserves.”
ICE agents arrested Ian Andre Roberts, a Guyanese citizen in the country illegally, during the September operation. At the time of his arrest, Roberts allegedly had a loaded handgun, a fixed-blade hunting knife and $3,000 in cash.
Concerns have grown over how Roberts (pictured above) – who has a lengthy criminal record – managed to gain employment as a Des Moines Public Schools principal, which earned a six-figure salary and gave him authority over his children.
Des Moines Public Schools hired an illegal Guyanese immigrant in 2023 even though they knew he lied about having a doctoral degree in urban educational leadership from Morgan State University, school board admitted earlier in October. A beleaguered school district has filed a lawsuit against the consulting firm it hired to vet employee candidates.
“How this illegal alien was hired without a work permit, a final order of removal and a prior weapons charge is incomprehensible and should alarm parents in this school district,” said Sam Olson, director of ICE’s St. Paul, at the time of Roberts’ arrest.
Voting registration records also revealed that Roberts was registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland, prompting Republicans in the state to express concerns about “gaping loopholes” in the voting system. The media investigation further revealed that Roberts worked as a consultant he earned numerous school board initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion.
The 2026 Iowa elections will decide who replaces two-term GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, who decided in September that he would not seek re-election.
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Benjamin Roberts is a reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Painting “Jackie Norris” by Jackie Norris.
