EDITORS' CORNER
OPINION: Super’s situation ‘more than anything else … holds up a mirror to our own prejudices about race, crime, immigration and deserving-ness‘??
Remember the illegal immigrant superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district who also, it turns out, had a criminal record and falsified his academic credentials?
It’s now been over a month since Ian Roberts officially resigned his position, but a sociology graduate student from the University of Iowa wants everyone to cut Roberts a break.
Writing in the Des Moines Register, Patrick Hardy says c’mon — despite never becoming a legal resident, Roberts “lived in the US consistently since the mid-1990s” during which time he “submitted multiple green card applications” and married a U.S. citizen.
(According to a mid-October report from the Associated Press, a federal indictment says Roberts actually — falsely — claimed he was a U.S. citizen.)
Roberts’ weapons possession charges? There’s “no evidence that he ever demonstrated a risk to his students or to public safety generally,” Hardy says.
So all that, his multiple professional misrepresentations (aka lies), and his alleged “attempt to steer a $116,000 bid towards a consulting firm” he worked for does not warrant Roberts’ “violent detention” (Hardy’s words) — because he was “dedicated to his students and [who] inspired them to give their best in school.”
Roberts’ “lack of legal status did not detract from [his] ability to do [his] job,” and hey — he got lots of “accolades” from his peers, Hardy adds.
Roberts was ‘suddenly ripped away from his family’
While Roberts should have to deal with “professional consequences” and it’s “understandable” that people would feel “betrayed” by him, Hardy (pictured) claims what the former super’s situation “does more than anything else is hold up a mirror to our own prejudices about race, crime, immigration and deserving-ness.”
Roberts was “working hard and making positive contributions to his community when he was suddenly ripped away from his family,” and no student(!) is “better off” with him gone:
Roberts is simultaneously a victim of a needlessly cruel immigration system and an individual who has made his share of mistakes. This should be a cautionary tale to those searching for a person of unassailable character to highlight the overreaches of the Trump administration’s crusade against immigrants: if we wait for the ideal victim, we will be waiting forever. Nevertheless, we should not let those who transgress the law dampen our resolve to create a more just system, nor should we be afraid to advocate for them.
It’s rather odd that the U.S. has a “needlessly cruel” immigration system … yet somehow holds the number one spot on a “Top 5 Easiest Countries To Immigrate To” list. Not to mention, it currently has the most immigrants per capita of any nation.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Hardy’s graduate research deals with “race, immigration, and inequality” and his thesis is titled “Fear is the Mind Killer: Deportability, Public Benefit Deterrence, and Immigrant Health.”
Hardy’s op-ed also sounds remarkably similar to an article in the Iowa Mutual Aid Network‘s November newsletter. According to this coalition “made up of numerous individuals, collectives, and affinity groups working together and along side each other to change the material conditions of oppressed communities in so-called Iowa,” aside from Roberts’ “criminal history and immigration status, [he] has never been accused of harming children.”
According to the Network, “All of his alleged crimes are non-violent and he is being intentionally misrepresented as dangerous [and] the only thing that Ian Roberts is a threat to is the class system and white supremacy of Des Moines.”
The group also criticizes the Dept. of Justice investigation of the Des Moines Public Schools, and the audit of the state Department of Education: Such “will undoubtedly strain the already suffering school system and give credit to the racist propaganda that prompted it.”
It’s rather amazing to behold progressives’ ability to pooh pooh laws, rules, and regulations as they see fit, but at the drop of a hat they’ll do a 180 when someone does something with which they disagree (or don’t like).
What’s that saying again? “No one is above the law”?
What’s more, sympathetic media follow right along. For example, the same paper which gave Hardy space for his op-ed asked this week if Roberts was actually required to “disclose [his] criminal count” on his state license application.
It notes “Roberts selected ‘no’ in a section asking if he had ever been convicted of a crime ‘other than minor traffic offenses,’” which is clearly a lie.
But no biggie: An Iowa Department of Education spokesperson said even if Roberts had been truthful, his offense “would not be disqualifying.”
Isn’t that special.
MORE: Criminal record, bogus degrees: Case of Iowa superintendent arrested by ICE gets more interesting
