Intern Spotlight: Ian Reeves, Catholic Charities

Ian Reeves is a second-year law student at the University of Iowa College of Law. He was an ALL Iowa Summer Legal Intern during summer 2023, working with ALL Iowa partner organization Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Dubuque.

Read more about his background leading up to this work and the projects he took part in during his summer internship.

Ian received a B.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016. Before beginning law school, Ian worked in Chicago Public Schools through AmeriCorps, after which he spent some time working in immigration case management. 

At Heartland Alliance, he served as a Family Reunification Specialist, screening sponsors and reuniting unaccompanied migrant children with sponsors. He then resumed his work in education for several years before enrolling at the University of Iowa College of Law. 

While working at Catholic Charities, Ian has enjoyed opportunities to interact directly with clients, including leading supervised consultations with potential asylum clients and participating in several weekend workshops. Ian also enjoyed traveling to Dubuque to assist an attorney with filing a large family's re-parole applications and attend a non-profit conference. 

Since he joined Catholic Charities in June for his summer internship, the entire staff has been warm and welcoming. The Legal Director, Yer Vang, has been encouraging, supportive, and kind throughout Ian's internship. Yer has also shown Ian a prime example of leadership that is collaborative and compassionate. Working under the direct supervision of Dee Patters, Ian has learned about the odds and ends of the Afghan immigration process, including Special Immigrant Visas and asylum. 

Through Dee's outstanding mentorship, Ian has felt motivated and challenged to produce his best writing and take ownership of his work and client engagements. Dee allowed Ian to take the lead on Adjustment of Status questionnaires, asylum interviews, re-parole and employment authorization briefing, and writing several asylum declarations. Ian has also enjoyed the privilege of working with and learning from Jim Jacobson, who invited Ian to participate in client meetings, write a client's asylum declaration, and provide research on country conditions.

Ian has particularly enjoyed sharing an office with Saadat Ahmadi, one of the interpreters and navigators for Catholic Charities in Cedar Rapids. Saadat shared invaluable insights about his experience as a pilot in the Afghan Air Force and helping Afghan clients through the complex immigration process.

Overall, Ian's experience has been defined by providing meaningful,material contributions to help Afghans secure legal status in the United States, while developing fundamental lawyering skills at Catholic Charities in Cedar Rapids.