Who is Judge Paula Xinis? Insights on the Judge Handling the Case of a Man Wrongly Deported to El Salvador
In the spotlight is Federal Judge Paula Xinis, overseeing a heated courtroom battle in Maryland that's serving as a litmus test for the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies.
Following a Supreme Court decision ordering the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident wrongfully deported to El Salvador, Xinis, a New York native and judge on the federal bench in Maryland for nearly a decade, now finds herself in a standoff with Justice Department officials who argue the president of El Salvador should handle the matter.
"All we’re legally obligated to do is facilitate his return if, according to the Supreme Court, President Bukele wants him back—but he doesn't, and we don’t," Attorney General Pam Bondi stated on Fox News, defying orders from Xinis' courtroom.
Since directing Abrego Garcia's return this month, Xinis has clashed with Justice Department lawyers in her courtroom, projecting confidence in the Supreme Court's endorsement of her decision to mandate the administration to bring Abrego Garcia back.
"We're not going to skirt around this," Xinis told the government last week. "So, you'll have a full and fair opportunity to be heard, but we're not rehashing what the Supreme Court has already settled."
Frustrated with the case's progress since the Supreme Court ruling, Xinis recently allowed for swift fact-finding to determine if the Trump administration is in compliance with her orders.
"Each day Mr. Garcia remains detained in CECOT causes irreparable harm," she stated, referring to the high-security mega prison where inmates are densely packed into cells without access to the outdoors.
"There will be zero tolerance for manipulation or grandstanding," she warned attorneys during the status conference.
Xinis has scheduled "two weeks of intensive discovery," including sworn statements from administration officials under questioning by Abrego Garcia's legal team. She demands immediate action, instructing, "Cancel vacation, cancel other commitments."
Here's the lowdown on the judge-in-question, Judge Paula Xinis:
She was a public defender for over a decade
Like Judge Tanya Chutkan, who famously presided over President Trump's criminal case in Washington, D.C., Xinis previously served as a public defender.
Xinis spent more than a decade as an assistant federal public defender in Maryland from 1998 to 2011. Prior to her public defender tenure, she served as a law clerk for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1997 to 1998. In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Motz described Xinis as an "extraordinarily competent young lawyer" who was "honest" and "a joy to work with."
She was nominated by President Barack Obama
Xinis was confirmed by the Senate in 2016 with a vote of 53 - 34, over a year after she was nominated by President Barack Obama.
During her confirmation hearing in July 2015, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions questioned her record, emphasizing her work as a complaint examiner for the Office of Police Complaints for the District of Columbia and her firm's role in a civil suit related to the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore.
"I've never had an agenda," Xinis stated in response, emphasizing her lack of bias as a well-trained judge.
Later, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy defended Xinis before her final confirmation vote on the Senate floor, highlighting her case representing a Baltimore police officer falsely accused of criminal wrongdoing.
She has a background in civil rights litigation
In 2011, Xinis joined the Baltimore law firm, Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, where she focused on civil matters and served as lead and co-chair trial attorney in federal civil rights violations cases.
She shared her experiences in 2021 during a personal talk provided by the US Courts, recounting the representation of "brain-injured children affected by lead paint contamination, a 39-year-old man who suffered a massive stroke after a police officer applied a chokehold during a traffic stop, and patients at a drug rehab center who'd been poisoned by carbon monoxide."
Born in 1968 in Mineola, New York, to Greek immigrants, Xinis completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia and graduated from Yale School of Law in 1997.
- Judge Xinis, overseeing a contentious courtroom battle in Maryland, has been serving as a litmus test for the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies, particularly in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi, defying orders from Xinis' courtroom, argued that the president of El Salvador should handle the matter of Abrego Garcia's return, stating, "All we’’re legally obligated to do is facilitate his return if, according to the Supreme Court, President Bukele wants him back—but he doesn't, and we don’t."
- Xinis has clashed with Justice Department lawyers in her courtroom, demonstrating confidence in the Supreme Court's endorsement of her decision to mandate the administration to bring Abrego Garcia back.
- Frustrated with the case's progress since the Supreme Court ruling, Xinis recently allowed for swift fact-finding to determine if the Trump administration is in compliance with her orders, stating, "Each day Mr. Garcia remains detained in CECOT causes irreparable harm."
- With a background in civil rights litigation, Xinis has a history of representing individuals affected by lead paint contamination, police brutality, and carbon monoxide poisoning at a drug rehab center, demonstrating her commitment to justice and civil rights, even in the face of grandstanding and political pressure.
