SANTA FE — A 15-year-old U.S. citizen from Doña Ana County spent nearly two weeks in state and CYFD-coordinated limbo this month after New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Department twice attempted to send him across the border into Mexico to live with his estranged mother, according to KRQE News 13, which obtained internal case communications sent to state leaders, and the Albuquerque Journal.

The boy was born in New Mexico in 2010 to parents who were Mexican nationals, according to the Journal. For nine years, he lived with family friends described in court documents as godparents, alongside two siblings.

On July 6, a CYFD employee drove the boy to the Bridge of the Americas in El Paso and released him to walk across alone to meet his mother, who was expected to FaceTime the employee once he arrived, KRQE reported. He never made it to the Mexican side. Instead, he crossed back through several lanes of traffic into the U.S., was picked up and taken to a Texas shelter, where he spent roughly 10 days as CYFD delivered his prescription medications in person. On July 17, CYFD coordinated with the Mexican consulate, Texas’ Department of Family and Protective Services and Border Patrol to escort the boy across the bridge a second time. As of July 19, he was living with his mother in Mexico, according to KRQE.

CYFD’S Defense

CYFD Communications Director Jake Thompson defended the agency’s handling of the case in a statement to KRQE.

“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,” Thompson said. “CYFD acted in the best interests of the child as it lawfully and with court approval worked to bring the family together.”

Thompson said CYFD and Texas child welfare officials assessed the mother, including through two virtual home visits, and “determined her to be safe and appropriate for placement of the child.” He said CYFD “also determined that the child’s safety was not at risk, nor had he been abused or neglected,” and that the agency “had no legal grounds to take custody and place him in foster care” once a prior informal guardianship was dismissed by the court.

A History of Abuse

The mother CYFD determined “safe and appropriate” has a documented history that predates this case by years. Court petitions and sources familiar with the case say she was named in a substantiated abuse claim against the boy years prior, according to the Journal, and had little contact with him since. In June, she was arrested on drug charges in the U.S. and deported to Mexico — the same month a court dismissed the informal guardianship that had kept the boy with his New Mexico godparents for nearly a decade, and the same month CYFD placed him in foster care in Las Cruces.

At a July 6 custody hearing that was not a public proceeding, CYFD moved to dismiss the abuse case against the mother, telling a judge it had no concerns about her and that the agency intended to unite the boy with her, according to the Journal — the same day agency staff drove him to the border.

By CYFD’s own account to KRQE, the teen was resistant to the plan from the outset. He did not cross the bridge to meet his mother on July 6, fleeing back into the U.S. instead. CYFD did not return him to New Mexico’s care — it spent the following 10 days arranging, with the Mexican consulate, Texas officials and Border Patrol, to complete the crossing anyway.

‘Further Traumatized’

Dawn Walters, head of the state’s Office of the Child Advocate, said in a statement to KRQE that her office “became aware of this case after CYFD was already in the process of sending this child to Mexico.”

“I immediately raised significant concerns with CYFD leadership and escalated my concerns to the Office of the Governor,” Walters said. “Despite my continuous efforts, I was unable to obtain the timely information and meaningful cooperation necessary to effectively advocate for the child and ensure those concerns were properly addressed, resulting in the child being further traumatized and sent to an unfamiliar country without appropriate supports.”

“This case highlights why the Office of the Child Advocate was created and the critical importance of independent oversight of CYFD,” Walters said. “I remain committed to advocating for the safety and well-being of children and will continue working with Legislators to strengthen the OCA’s authority to prevent similar outcomes.”

Lawmakers, Advocates React

Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, said the case is proof New Mexico needs a legally defined “best interest of the child” standard in state law.

“This administration won’t support deporting violent offenders, but they’re willing to send a U.S. citizen child back into an unsafe home. That’s the hypocrisy New Mexicans can’t stand — and it’s exactly why we need a ‘Best Interest of the Child’ standard in New Mexico. Until that becomes law, CYFD’s incentive structure will always prioritize closing cases over the safety of New Mexico’s children,” Brantley said.

Vince Torres, executive director of the America First Policy Institute’s New Mexico chapter, said the case reflects a deeper pattern of dysfunction at the agency.

“The first priority of the child welfare system is the safety and well-being of children. New Mexico abandoned that responsibility when CYFD drove a 15-year-old American citizen to the border and sent him into Mexico to live with a parent the state itself had found responsible for abuse. He told them he didn’t want to go. They sent him anyway. Then they closed the case,” Torres said.

“This did not happen in a vacuum,” Torres said. “For years, this state’s administration has presided over a child welfare agency in crisis, one the Attorney General’s own investigation found has repeatedly placed children in harm’s way. This case is not an isolated incident. It is the predictable result of a system that has gone unaccountable for far too long. New Mexicans deserve answers, and this child deserves justice.”

Best Interest Bill Falls Short

Brantley and Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, sponsored SB 67, the Best Interests of the Child Standards Act, during the 2026 session. The bill would have required courts and CYFD to weigh a defined set of factors — including a child’s safety, documented abuse history and stated wishes — before returning a child to a parent or guardian. It did not advance, and Brantley has vowed to reintroduce it.