Meet Judge Paula Xinis - US district judge making headlines after she ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Judge Paula Xinis has suddenly become the center of national attention after ordering the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from immigration detention. Her ruling, sharp in tone and legally forceful, arrived after months of back-and-forth over Abrego Garcia’s case. As the story unfolds, so does renewed interest in the judge behind the decision.

Judge Paula Xinis's ruling did more than challenge the government’s actions, it spotlighted the complicated and often controversial path of Abrego Garcia’s case and placed renewed attention on Paula Xinis’ long legal career.

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Who is Judge Paula Xinis?

Born in 1968 in Mineola, New York, Paula Xinis built a reputation for intellectual rigor and public-service commitment long before stepping into the national spotlight. She graduated from Vassar College and later earned her B.A. with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia in 1991. In 1997, she completed her J.D. at Yale Law School.

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Judge Paula Xinis began her legal career clerking for Judge Diana Gribbon Motz on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She then joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland, where she served in multiple leadership roles, including Research and Writing Attorney Supervisor and Director of Training. She also taught Appellate Advocacy at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, reflecting her dedication to legal education, as quoted in a report by mdd.uscourts.

In 2011, she moved into private practice at Murphy Falcon & Murphy, becoming a partner in 2013 while handling complex civil, mass, and class-action cases. President Barack Obama nominated her to the federal bench in 2015, and the Senate confirmed her in 2016. Over the years, she has served on the Federal Bar Association’s Board of Governors, the Merit Selection Committee for U.S. Magistrate Judges, and the Office of Police Complaints in Washington, D.C, as quoted in a report by mdd.uscourts.


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Since 2009, Judge Xinis has served as a permanent member of the Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. Currently, Judge Xinis chairs the Court's Admissions and Disciplinary Committee.

What led to the order for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

The judge’s recent decision centers on the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native who lived in Maryland before being deported to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison in March. This removal violated a 2019 order that barred his deportation to El Salvador due to fears of persecution. The Trump administration claimed he was a member of MS-13, a charge he denies, as per a report by ABC News.

In her newly issued ruling, Judge Xinis wrote that “since Abrego Garcia's wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority.” She emphasized that the government lacked a valid removal order, preventing any legal deportation and rendering his continued detention improper. The two-page filing made her position unmistakably clear, “Respondents SHALL release Abrego Garcia from ICE custody immediately.”

After his deportation, Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States in June to face human smuggling charges in Tennessee, to which he pleaded not guilty. Once released to his brother’s custody pending trial, he was detained again by immigration authorities and moved to a Pennsylvania facility, events that formed the backdrop of Xinis’ 31-page opinion, as per a report by ABC News.

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How did the government handle Abrego Garcia’s removal attempts?

Judge Paula Xinis’ order detailed a series of failed removal notifications. Although the government tried to deport him to Liberia last month, it also “notified” him of possible expulsion to Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana—countries she noted were “never viable options.

She added that the government could have removed him to Costa Rica, his preferred country of removal. Yet, as she wrote, “Respondents' calculated effort to take Costa Rica 'off the table' backfired,” pointing out that Costa Rica reaffirmed its offer to grant him residence and refugee status “firm, unwavering, and unconditional.”

"Within 24 hours, Costa Rica, through Minister Zamora Cordero, communicated to multiple news sources that its offer to grant Abrego Garcia residence and refugee status is, and always has been, firm, unwavering, and unconditional." "Respondents serially 'notified' Abrego Garcia -- while he sat in ICE custody -- of his expulsion to Uganda, then Eswatini, then Ghana; but none of these countries were ever viable options, Xinis stated.

The response from federal officials was swift. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin criticized the ruling, calling it “naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge” and stating that “This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”

Judge Xinis, who previously blocked his removal in August, closed her ruling with a pointed reflection, “The history of Abrego Garcia's case is as well known as it is extraordinary.”

FAQs

Why did Judge Xinis order Abrego Garcia’s release?
As she found his repeated detentions occurred “without lawful authority."

What did the government attempt before the ruling?
It sought to remove him to several countries, none of which were viable options.