12.06.2022

2022 New Mexico CYFD/Consulate of Mexico MOU English | Spanish

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Officials from Mexico and the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department renewed their long-running commitment to assist young people with families and backgrounds that span the international border. 

At a joint ceremony today, The Consulate of Mexico in Albuquerque, the Consulate General in El Paso, and the state CYFD signed a memorandum of understanding that will ensure consular assistance and protection in proceedings involving Mexican children and adolescents. Today’s signing reaffirms a strong working relationship that began with a similar agreement in 2009. 

It guarantees that the Consulates of Mexico in Albuquerque and the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso – which have jurisdiction in New Mexico for providing this kind of support -- are notified in a timely manner about the cases of Mexican children and adolescents who are involved with CYFD.   

“For the Government of México, consular assistance and protection of Mexican minors, youth and their families are one of the highest priorities, a task that requires close collaboration with local authorities in charge of their welfare, in cases of custody and repatriation,” said Ambassador Norma Ang, Consul of Mexico in Albuquerque.  

“When children come to the attention of our department, we must do everything we can to keep them safe and to promote permanency, and often that means working with our friends and colleagues in the Mexican consulates,’’ said CYFD Cabinet Secretary Barbara J. Vigil. “We are pleased that we can continue to build on the practices and relationships we have developed together.” 

In the past 13 years, the collaboration has resulted in a variety of outcomes for young people, including: 

• Repatriating and reunifying of Mexican minors 
• Searching for and locating relatives 
• Searching for, verifying, and issuing of identity and nationality documents  
• Requesting psychological and socioeconomic assessments to help determine the appropriateness of family reunifications 

The Consulate of Mexico in Albuquerque represents the interests of Mexico and its citizens in New Mexico and 38 counties in Northwest Texas. For more information, visit https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/albuquerque/. 

The Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso represents the interests of Mexico and its citizens in Southern New Mexico, El Paso and Hudspeth, Texas. For more information, visit https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/elpaso 

CYFD: The department provides an array of prevention, intervention, rehabilitative and after-care services to New Mexico children and their families. For more information, visit https://cyfd.org.