Welcome to the February 2026 issue of the YLL Newsletter!
Announcements
Here is what you may have missed from the past month at YLL Edmonton!
This month, YLL Edmonton hosted the first part of our Foundations of Law event, welcoming lawyers from across the province, including the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta. Students had the opportunity to ask questions about law school experiences and gain practical advice for pursuing a career in law. With over 20 engaged participants, the discussion was both insightful and inspiring. Thank you to our panelists and students for making the event a success! Scroll below to find a snippet of what was shared by a couple of the lawyers present, Taryn Ghostkeeper-Dachuk and Harmanjot Parmar.
On March 14, YLL will be hosting the second part of the Foundations of Law event- the Mock Trial! The students who were accepted from the Foundations of Law event will be participating in a simulation of a real-life trial. This event is designed to give attendees a hands-on introduction to how court proceedings work. Every participating attendee (non-YLL-member) is assigned a witness role and will take part in a simulated courtroom trial, where they are questioned by both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s legal teams. YLL is very excited to see how this event will go! If you are unable to attend, make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow our socials (Instagram, LinkedIn) to find our recaps of the event.
Ambassador Program: YLL is accepting applications for our Ambassador program on a rolling basis. From schools across Edmonton, we choose one representative to share YLL’s updates and promote our cause. Note that if you are enrolled in Grade 9, we will also be considering your application. If you would like to represent YOUR school, learn more below.
Instagram Takeover Series: This past month on Instagram, YLL has been doing Instagram story takeovers by our executives. We are answering YOUR questions, whether it be our experiences on YLL, tips for applying to YLL, or general questions about the legal field. If you have anything to ask, make sure to follow us on Instagram and keep watching for our next takeover.
Blog 4: ICE Arrests a Five-Year-Old
What happened?
On January 20th, 2026, Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to school officials, the preschooler and his father were taken into custody as they returned home from school. Right on their driveway in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, Liam was taken from his home with his father to a family detention facility in Texas.
He is the fourth child to be taken in this way from his school district, Columbia Heights.
Why did this happen?
Liam’s family was originally from Ecuador and applied for asylum, which is legal protection for people fleeing persecution by entering another country. The economic instability in Ecuador led Liam’s parents, Erika Ramos and Adrian Conejo Arias to head to the U.S. for ‘a better life’.
Their family was in the process of obtaining legal status in the U.S., but their attempts were still pending at the time of the arrest. No one in Liam’s family has a criminal record associated with them, whether in Ecuador or in the U.S.
However, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin says that ‘The law requires those in the country illegally claiming fearing to be detained pending removal. You can look it up in the statute.’
What are the different perspectives?
Columbia Heights superintendent Zena Stenvik and school board chair Mary Granlund are saying that multiple onlookers pleaded with the ICE agents not to take the child, and that another adult was saying they would take the child. Their pleas were refused.
Many witnesses claim that Liam was instructed to knock on the door of his house to see if anyone else was home, using him to try to get people out of the house.
ICE denies these allegations, instead saying that Liam’s mother refused to take custody of her child and his father abandoned his child when officers tried to apprehend him. They deny claims of using Liam as bait and instead say they took care of him by giving him food and music to comfort him.
What happened after?
Liam and his father were taken to the South Texas Family Residential Center but were released by a federal judge’s order on February 1st, 2026. As of mid-February, they are back in Minneapolis, but are in hiding due to safety concerns.
Liam’s family is not the only family to be detained, and many have been wrongfully held for much longer. Investigation reports say that more than 170 U.S. citizens have been detained, and over 750,000 people with no criminal records have been arrested. Some have even been held in centers for over two years.
Lawyer Advice: “What initially drew you to the legal field?”
What initially drew me to law was the doors that it’s able to open up and how transferable the skills from law school are to any work sector in Canada. As an Indigenous person, I wanted to be a better advocate for Indigenous people across Canada, and after working in Indigenous advocacy and nonprofit spaces and completing a finance degree, I saw how transferable those skills were to law and decided to pursue it.
Sponsorship Package:
Empower the next generation of young leaders—partner with YLL and make an impact today! 🌟 Your support helps amplify student voices, create opportunities, and shape the leaders of tomorrow. Become a sponsor now!
Sponshorship Package: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oDFuUAf_C7CltJALPWaqUG9LQunXOFeL/view?usp=sharing
I think at the back of my mind I always wanted to do something in law, even if not directly as a lawyer. I’ve always been interested in public service, and since immigrating to Canada, I’ve focused on supporting the immigrant community on Vancouver Island. Helping others in that space showed me that pursuing a career in law could be meaningful. Completing a bachelor’s in business administration also taught me how financial and legal independence go hand in hand, which further solidified my decision.
Opportunities:
YLL AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
Youth Leaders in Law is an organization based in Edmonton that strives to make the legal field more accessible to young people through increasing accessibility and diversity in the law.
Apply to be part of our Ambassador Program to help spread its messages within your local school community. There is no deadline for applications; instead, they will be evaluated on a rolling basis. This means that early applicants are more likely to secure an Ambassador position with YLL Edmonton. Apply now!
Sponsors: Click the links below to check out our sponsors! Through their support, we can host events, create educational resources, and provide meaningful opportunities for students to engage with law, advocacy, and leadership. We are grateful to our sponsors for investing in youth voices and helping us expand our impact in the community.
