The New Mexico Department of Justice on Tuesday filed a lawsuit and a request for a temporary restraining order against the state Children, Youth and Families Department following reports the agency dropped a 15-year-old boy off at the U.S.-Mexico border and told him to cross alone to reunite with his estranged mother.
The legal action, filed in the state’s First Judicial District Court, seeks to reverse the agency’s actions and bring the boy back to the U.S. Reports by lawmakers and child advocates have indicated the boy did not want to live with his mother, had a serious heart condition requiring medication and check-ups, and has been known to run away from foster homes and other living arrangements in which he felt unsafe.
The 15-year-old, who was taken to the border earlier this month, has not been publicly identified for privacy reasons.
“We are not going to stand idly by when CYFD makes decisions that are in their best interest, but not in the best interest of children,” Department of Justice Special Counsel Sean Sullivan told lawmakers during a Legislative Finance Committee meeting Friday.
CYFD has argued it acted in the best interest of the boy, it had found his mother’s home was a safe environment for him, and it did not have the international jurisdiction to cross the U.S.-Mexico border and accompany him to the other side.
“CYFD acted in the best interests of the child to unite him with his legal guardian, his mother, who was requesting unification,” spokesperson Jake Thompson said in a statement last week. “Under state law, CYFD had no legal grounds to retain custody and keep him in foster care.”
Lawmakers and child advocates, however, have noted the boy’s mother previously abused or neglected the boy. In fact, Thompson said CYFD had investigated the woman 14 times from 2017 to 2021. Most of those allegations involved other children, though one — in 2019 — resulted in a substantiated allegation of abuse or neglect of the 15-year-old.
Critics have questioned the agency’s safety checks of the mother, with a report from the Office of the Child Advocate noting she had not cared for the boy in roughly nine years and that she had past drug-related criminal charges. Thompson said CYFD conducted “two virtual home visits with her, and determined her to be safe and appropriate for placement.”
“I’m not exactly sure how you do a Zoom home visit of someone who you’re concerned has had prior drug issues,” Sullivan said. “I don’t know how that works, but that’s what was done.”
According to reports, the boy was driven to a bridge near the U.S.-Mexico border and told to cross the boundary by CYFD after the agency successfully petitioned a judge to dismiss an abuse and neglect allegation that was keeping the boy in foster care. After crossing the border, the boy immediately crossed back into Texas, and Border Patrol agents drove him to a homeless shelter.
Reports indicate the boy — who had only four of his heart pills with him when he crossed the border — stayed at the shelter for more than 10 days, and CYFD refused to pick him up. The agency has disputed those reports, saying the agency did secure more medication for him and that the boy “declined further engagement with CYFD.”
Ultimately, the agency arranged to have the boy delivered to his mother in Mexico on July 17. Thompson said that “as of Monday, July 20, the boy was confirmed to be living with his mother in Mexico.”
Lawmakers, some of whom attempted to intervene and stop CYFD from reuniting the boy with his mother, have blasted the agency for its decision-making in the past week.
“He must have been terrified,” Rep. Eleanor Chávez, D-Albuquerque, said during the legislative hearing. “… I just feel horrible for this little boy.”
This is a developing story. Check back for more details.
