A family lawsuit filed this week in Santa Fe claims a New Mexico child welfare investigator crossed state lines and ethical boundaries to seize an infant who was living in Texas, according to court papers. The complaint says the investigator traveled to El Paso in February 2025, took custody of the girl and brought her into New Mexico, where she stayed in state care for weeks before a court dismissed the state's custody claim and returned the child to her father. The suit names investigator Jacob Torres and the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department as defendants.
As reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican, the plaintiffs, identified as Hope Waggoner and Jamie Torres, filed their state court complaint in Santa Fe on April 3. The filing lays out the February 2025 removal, alleging a string of procedural and jurisdictional missteps. It says local officers briefly detained Waggoner while she was en route to El Paso, that Texas child protective workers initially responded but later left the scene, and that the New Mexico investigator then transported the infant to Las Cruces. The complaint asks a judge for punitive and compensatory damages, along with attorney fees and other costs tied to the case.
Federal Civil Rights Case in Texas
The family has also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas that names Torres and the New Mexico agency as defendants. According to docket records on Justia Dockets & Filings, the federal complaint was lodged on May 8, 2025, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the defendants have entered appearances and filed an answer. The state and federal suits are moving forward on separate tracks and are expected to trigger discovery battles and jurisdictional fights in both court systems.
CYFD Response
CYFD has not issued a detailed rebuttal of the allegations. In an email to the Santa Fe New Mexican, spokesperson Jake Thompson declined to discuss specifics and wrote that "CYFD always acts first in the best interest of the child."
Why the Case Matters
Interstate removals of children can raise thorny questions about jurisdiction, parental rights, and when one state's agency can intervene in a case involving a child who resides across the border. The lawsuit arrives as New Mexico officials face pressure to overhaul child welfare practices. In February 2026, the governor's office announced steps to end overnight office stays for children in CYFD care and to expand placement options, reforms the administration says are intended to reduce harm to kids and improve oversight, according to a press release from the Office of the Governor.
Legal Questions and Next Steps
The state complaint seeks damages in the Santa Fe court, while the Texas case advances a federal civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Texas docket notes the active management of the federal case and the issues in dispute, as reflected on Justia Dockets & Filings. The parties are expected to battle over which courts have authority, what exactly unfolded in El Paso and Las Cruces, and whether any employee conduct amounted to an unlawful seizure. Both suits could lead to additional records requests and hearings as lawyers for the family and for CYFD sort out which pieces of the dispute belong in which forum.
