The American Civil Liberties Union has asked the New Mexico Supreme Court to halt a state policy that directs the Children, Youth and Families Department to take custody of drug-exposed newborns once they leave the hospital, KOB 4 reports. The ACLU argues the policy amounts to an unconstitutional blanket removal order that tears families apart without due process.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham enacted the policy in July 2025 after at least two infants connected to the child welfare system died following in-utero drug exposure. In 2022, New Mexico ranked third in the country for substance-exposed newborns, with nearly 15 in every 1,000 babies exposed to drugs compared with a national rate of 5.4. Since the policy took effect, CYFD has taken custody of about 170 children.
The ACLU filed the petition with two Democratic lawmakers, Rep. Micaela Cadena and Sen. Linda Lopez, who argue the state has bypassed the individual investigations usually required before separating children from their parents. The petition seeks a writ of mandamus ordering state officials to stop enforcing the directive while the court reviews it. “We can’t be treating families as categories,” ACLU staff attorney Deanna Warren told KOB 4.
Republican state Sen. Nicole Tobiassen defended the removals as a targeted intervention that puts the most vulnerable child first. She said many families had already challenged removals in court but did not show they had stopped using drugs.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from KOB 4’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit KOB 4’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.
