The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday denied a request to stop the state’s controversial practice of immediately taking drug-exposed infants into protective custody.
In a unanimous opinion, the justices rejected a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and two Democratic state lawmakers, Sen. Linda López of Albuquerque and Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena of Mesilla. The lawmakers and the ACLU had asked the court to issue an emergency order to end the practice, which began in July 2025 following a directive from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.
An average of 1,266 babies were born exposed to illegal drugs in New Mexico annually between 2020 and 2023, according to the New Mexico Department of Justice. Prior to the governor’s directive, many of those newborns were sent home with parents — a practice that was part of a push to reunite at-risk children with their families and comply with the federal Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, better known as CARA.
But that also resulted in several high-profile child and infant deaths.
Under Lujan Grisham’s 2025 directive, children born exposed to fentanyl, meth and other dangerous substances are required to remain in the hospital for treatment and until the child can be placed in a safe environment. The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department will take custody of a child for at least 72 hours before they are discharged.
In every case, CYFD is required to file an abuse and neglect petition before discharging a newborn from the hospital. If a child is eventually placed back with their parents, CYFD conducts regular check-ins.
Following the directive, some child advocates and attorneys voiced concerns the practice of taking all drug-exposed babies into care would further strain the state’s already-overburdened foster care system. Some lawmakers, including former state Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino, said the approach was punitive and would stigmatize families.
The ACLU decried the new directive as a zero-tolerance policy that violated parents’ constitutional rights to due process.
“The directive causes the very harm it purports to prevent,” the ACLU wrote in a news release after submitting the emergency petition. “Stigma and criminalization drive families away from care — parents may avoid prenatal appointments, travel out of state to give birth, or conceal their health history from providers, leaving both mother and child worse off.”
The ACLU could not immediately be reached for comment following Monday’s ruling.
The state argued in court filings the governor acted appropriately after a string of deaths of infants born exposed to drugs, and that the plaintiffs in the emergency petition lacked standing to bring the case.
“This welcome decision will help keep babies safe,” CYFD spokesperson Jake Thompson wrote in an email Monday. “The Supreme Court’s dismissal of this case enables CYFD to continue working in close collaboration with mothers and their families, and with medical professionals, the courts, law enforcement, and partner agencies, to give babies born exposed to dangerous drugs a fighting chance to live and thrive.”
Thompson said 213 newborns have tested positive for illegal substances at birth, and all are in safe care.
Maralyn Beck, executive director of the foster care advocacy organization New Mexico Child First Network, who has been a vocal critic of CYFD, praised the court’s decision Monday.
“I was so relieved that the court denied this petition,” Beck said in an interview. “Since the governor stood strong and made this directive, no child that has fallen under this directive has died. In my opinion, there is no metric that is more important than children not dying.”
Would love to know how many of the “illegal drugs” were cannabis, which is legal in New Mexico. I got the all clear from my medical providers (MULTIPLE) to take edibles during my pregnancy because of concerns about the safety of my regular medications while pregnant. I have a prescription medical card for my insomnia. In a HUGE F***ING SHOCK to me, my baby was tested at birth with zero consent or notice, and I had to sign a CARA acknowledgement because apparently there was cannabis in her system. Talk about shaming a new mom who was literally just trying to sleep and keep food down FOR HER BABY. Granted, I didn’t see any results or anything, just a very nasty nurse who came in and told me that, along with a form to sign. “Just a formality” I was told at the hospital. Not a f***ing formality now that my benefits are apparently all in jeopardy and I HAVE TO participate in some kind of remediation plan and follow-ups. FOR A LEGAL DRUG MY PROVIDER OKAYED 🙃 And I’m an attorney, so we’ll see how far they actually get. CYFD is New Mexico’s biggest joke. I can also tell you NONE of this sh** was included on the form, or I wouldn’t have signed.
You are so right, and I’m so sorry they treated you the way I’ve been treated here too, not for a baby, but when I first got here 10 years ago and sought help for my severe depression. They do as they please and have no respect for people or laws. This from the state that fails last in everything. They are incompetent and uneducated, and routinely cause problems.