Former Michelle Obama Chief of Staff Hired Illegal Alien Superintendent

One of the big news stories yesterday was the arrest of the Des Moines, Iowa, superintendent who was overseeing the state’s largest school system, and drawing a substantial taxpayer-funded salary, even though a deportation order was out for him, and he is in the country illegally. Guess who hired him?

Turns out the chair of the Des Moines school board Jackie Norris, who recently launched her campaign for United States Senate, is a former chief of staff for Michelle Obama. And she thought it would be a fabulous idea to have an illegal alien take a taxpayer-funded job and have the power to influence tens of thousands of children’s education.

So you mean to tell me that MICHELLE OBAMA’S chief of staff hired an illegal alien with a fake degree & a criminal record to be the head of the public schools in Des Moines, Iowa?
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) Sep 25, 2025

Norris’s Senate campaign website brags about her position on the Des Moines School Board, and how she “came to Iowa in 1998 to help elect Tom Vilsack, the first Democratic governor to be elected in the state in 30 years.” Here’s the most interesting background section:

Jackie served as Chief of Staff to Michelle Obama in the White House championing efforts to make kids healthier and supporting military spouses. She later launched the Corporate Institute at President George H. W. Bush’s Points of Light organization, where she built out volunteerism at companies across the United States.

The Bush family has become much more left-leaning over the years, particularly in regards to illegal immigration, so it’s not such a stretch to imagine a Michelle Obama staffer moving on to a Bush organization.

ICYMI – you don't want to miss this! Join our virtual event with Secretary John Kerry for a discussion on clean energy, clean water, taking action on climate change and the future of our democracy. RSVP at https://t.co/CthTTMODys pic.twitter.com/TYRbkcBLMG
— Jackie Norris (@MsJackieNorris) September 22, 2025

The interesting part is, Norris isn’t just a leftist — that can mean everything from a socialist professor to an Antifa terrorist to a “moderate” liberal these days — she is quite explicitly a Democrat. She brags about her Obama ties and how she helped wokeify Iowa. In fact, as you can see above, she has also been promoting globalist climate propagandist and ex-Biden/Obama official John Kerry.

As for Des Moines Superintendent Andre Roberts from Guyana, he was supposed to have been removed from the United States last year, per an immigration enforcement order, but of course, under the Biden-Harris administration that didn’t actually happen, and a Texas judge blocked reopening of his case this year. From my colleague Michael Cantrell:

Reports say Roberts fled from agents, but they later found him armed with both a knife and a gun…Police arrested Roberts in 2020 on a weapons charge, adding to his record long before this latest scandal.
If Roberts is in the country illegally, how did he manage to get his hands on a firearm? This whole situation raises a number of questions and security concerns that need to be addressed immediately.

Not to mention the fact that Roberts had a government job, and one involving young children. Sounds very safe, doesn’t it?

One hopes that this time, Roberts is actually deported, and Norris loses her Senate bid.

Here at PJ Media, we expose leftist law-breaking. Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.