New Mexico AG files lawsuit against CYFD for alleged unlawful removal of teen to Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KVIA) -- New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed another lawsuit against the Children, Youth, and Families Department of New Mexico Tuesday.

It's the second lawsuit he's filed against the state's primary child protection agency. This one alleged the agency unconstitutionally removed a child from their care and sent him to Mexico.

The lawsuit describes the child as "L.S.," a 15-year-old who was born in the United States but has parents who are Mexican nationals.

Torrez and his department alleged that CYFD took L.S from their custody and tried to re-unite him with his mother in Mexico, despite L.S and his godparents saying he wanted to stay in the U.S.

CYFD would eventually be able to have L.S. sent over to Mexico and he is currently with his mother. The lawsuit calls for CYFD to get L.S. back into the United States as he wishes.

CYFD posted a statement that reads in full below:

"Nothing is more important to CYFD than ensuring vulnerable children are safe, protected from harm and have a chance to thrive, and the department kept that mission front and center as it sought to unite the 15-year-old boy with his birth mother in Mexico. CYFD acted in the best interests of the child as it lawfully and with court approval worked to bring the family together. Before the reunification, CYFD and the Texas child welfare agency assessed the mother—including conducting two virtual home visits with her—and determined her to be safe and appropriate for placement of the child.

CYFD also determined that the child’s safety was not at risk, nor had he been abused or neglected. Throughout this case, the department took strenuous steps to keep the child safe and to keep a family together. The department had no legal grounds to take custody and place him in foster care.

For some years, the boy had been living in an informal guardianship with a couple in New Mexico. They petitioned in early June 2026 to have their informal arrangement dismissed, which the court approved and then placed him in CYFD’s care. The department placed him with foster parents in Las Cruces. The birth mother had been asking for custody of him, so CYFD arranged for him to cross into Mexico to meet her, although he was resistant to this plan.

On July 6, a CYFD employee escorted the boy to the bridge from El Paso into Mexico. CYFD has no jurisdiction to cross an international border. The boy was released to walk over the bridge, the CYFD employee called the mother who said she’d Facetime back with the boy, but he never arrived on the Mexico side. He apparently crossed over several lanes of traffic and walked back into the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint and then fled into Texas. He was later picked up and taken to a shelter in Texas.

In the ensuing days, CYFD secured prescription medications the boy needed and delivered them in person to the shelter. On July 17, CYFD coordinated with the Mexican Consulate, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the Border Patrol to escort the boy over the bridge unite with his mother in Mexico. As of Monday, July 19, the boy was living with his mother."

ABC-7 will have a full breakdown of the lawsuit and reaction from AG Torrez tonight on ABC-7 at 10.