Gov. Kim Reynolds signs executive order requiring state agencies to use E-Verify, SAVE

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed an executive order on October 8, 2025, mandating that state agencies verify employment eligibility and immigration status before hiring or issuing professional licenses. This executive action follows the arrest of former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts for overstaying a deportation order, highlighting vulnerabilities in the hiring process. The order requires the use of E-Verify, which confirms work eligibility, and SAVE, which verifies immigration status or U. S. citizenship.

Reynolds stressed that the state must take its role seriously as an employer in ensuring that hires are legally authorized to work in the U. S. The governor's office is collaborating with U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to implement these systems, aiming for full operational capacity by the end of 2025.

Senator Chuck Grassley has pointed out that if DMPS had used E-Verify, it may have flagged Roberts' immigration status. Grassley has called for a review of DMPS's hiring practices following Roberts' case. The state board previously did not utilize SAVE before Reynolds' executive order, raising concerns about the verification process.