New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department, alleging the agency unlawfully sent a 15-year-old U.S. citizen across the U.S.-Mexico border in early July without proper legal process or protections.
The lawsuit, filed in Santa Fe’s First Judicial District Court, alleges that CYFD officials took custody of the teenager after determining he was abused or neglected, only to dismiss the abuse and neglect case weeks later. CYFD then transported the boy to the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso on July 6 and instructed him to walk alone across the international border into Mexico to reunite with his biological mother, despite his objections and allegations that she had previously abused or neglected him.
The boy initially resisted the order to cross. According to records, he cut back through multiple lanes of traffic and fled back into the United States, where he was found by Border Patrol agents and spent 10 days at a homeless shelter in Texas. CYFD subsequently declared his case closed and refused to retrieve him when Texas authorities made contact. On July 17, Texas Child Protective Services and Mexican consulate officials coordinated with CYFD and Border Patrol to escort the boy across the border to reunite with his mother, where he is currently reported to be living.
Torrez said in a statement, “The State of New Mexico cannot claim to protect children while abandoning one of its own at an international border.” He continued, “This case is about more than one child. It is about whether the agency entrusted with protecting our most vulnerable children is following the law, honoring constitutional rights, and putting the safety of children above bureaucratic expediency.”
The lawsuit alleges that CYFD violated the state Children’s Code and the teenager’s constitutional due process rights. The state seeks a court order requiring CYFD to facilitate the child’s safe return to New Mexico and to implement changes to its practices. The complaint also requests a temporary restraining order preventing similar actions in the future.
The Office of the Child Advocate, a newly created oversight agency, referred the case to Torrez’s office after finding probable violations of the child’s constitutional rights, reckless disregard for his health and safety, and a pattern of conduct by CYFD that warrants judicial intervention. According to the lawsuit, CYFD failed to consult with the teenager about his relationship with his mother or whether he wished to leave the United States before transporting him to the border.
The case has emerged amid broader concerns about CYFD’s operations. In April, Torrez released a comprehensive investigative report detailing systemic failures within the agency. The report alleged that CYFD leaders often prioritized family reunification at the expense of children’s safety. Following that report, Torrez’s office identified five systemic failures in the agency: leadership, workforce and practice breakdowns; missed removals and premature reunifications; gaps in protecting drug-exposed infants; impediments to law enforcement officers and foster parents; and unstable and volatile placements. At a legislative hearing last week, Torrez’s office presented 50 proposed reforms for CYFD, including a requirement that the CYFD secretary have professional child welfare experience.
CYFD has defended its handling of the case, stating that it acted in the teenager’s best interest and that state law gave the department no legal grounds to retain custody and keep him in foster care. CYFD spokesperson Jake Thompson said the mother, the boy’s legal guardian, had requested reunification. However, court records showed that in 2019, a substantiated allegation of abuse by the mother had been established against the teenager. Critics have questioned the adequacy of CYFD’s safety assessment, which consisted of two virtual home visits with the mother conducted over phone or video before the decision was made to reunite them.
The teenager had lived with a couple under an informal guardianship for nine years before the arrangement was terminated in June 2026 after he was hospitalized for a medical condition. Because there was no legal guardian to receive him from the hospital, healthcare workers filed an abuse and neglect report with CYFD. He was then placed in foster care with a family in Las Cruces, where he objected to plans for reunification with his mother.
Court filings reveal that the teenager suffers from a heart condition requiring prescription medication, as well as emotional and behavioral issues. His biological mother had been deported to Mexico in June following a drug-related arrest in Texas. His biological father, also a Mexican citizen, was deported around 2016 and has had no contact with the children since, according to court documents.
The case has drawn responses from political figures, with Republican gubernatorial nominee Gregg Hull saying it demonstrates that CYFD is “chasing reunification numbers instead of protecting the child in front of it.” He called for an independent investigation and accountability for those responsible for the decision to send the teenager across the border alone. Child advocates and state lawmakers have expressed outrage, arguing that CYFD overlooked safety and medical concerns for the boy in its effort to reunify him with his mother.