Immigration agents have arrested the superintendent of the largest school district in the US state of Iowa, accusing him of overstaying his student visa.

Superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools Ian Andre Roberts was arrested on Friday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a fugitive warrant. He also faces a firearms offence.

Officials say he is a citizen of Guyana, and that his permit to work in the US expired in 2020. School district officials say they have not been told the circumstances of his arrest, and have called him an integral part of the school community.