About Us
Sonia Parras
Sonia Parras Konrad is an immigration attorney, activist, international consultant, and speaker on gender violence issues. She co-founded ASISTA, a national organization that provides legal technical assistance and training. She also founded the statewide MUNA Legal Clinic of the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence; LUNA, an all-Latina agency serving survivors of gender violence; and the Latina Leadership Initiative of Greater Des Moines (LLI). Sonia founded the Law Office of Sonia Parras PLLC in December of 2009, beginning with the Ingersoll location and opening a satellite office in Storm Lake in May 2022.
In 2001, Sonia obtained the first group of U visas in the country under the EEOC vs. De Coster case. In 2008, she represented more than 200 immigrants detained during one of the largest raids in US history, in Postville, Iowa, securing 174 U visas without charge. In recognition of her efforts, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) awarded her its 2009 Michael Maggio Memorial Pro Bono Award. In 2021, she received the Business Woman of the Year award. She currently volunteers mediating cases for Spanish-speaking litigants in family law cases for the VLP as well as representing immigrant survivors of gender violence with protective orders. She is a board member of the Des Moines Performing Arts and Children and Families of Iowa, as well as the Esperanza national organization. Sonia is licensed to practice law in the Kingdom of Spain, the State of Iowa, and in United States Federal Court.
Kelsey Sissel
Kelsey Sissel is a human rights attorney who has spent her legal career standing with immigrants and vulnerable workers. She earned her law degree at Drake University Law School and was admitted to the Iowa bar in September 2026. As a student attorney in Drake’s Advanced Refugee Clinic, she drafted appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and helped win an asylum case in a jurisdiction where only about 7% of claims are granted. She also held monthly know-your-rights orientations for ICE detainees at the Polk County Jail. With Iowa Legal Aid’s Farmworker Rights Project, she traveled across Iowa teaching farmworkers about their rights. Today Kelsey defends families in removal proceedings and represents clients before USCIS. She brings to every case her belief that each person deserves dignity, a fair hearing, and a chance to keep their family together.