# Paula Xinis United States District Judge for the District of Maryland. Nominated by Barack Obama on March 26, 2015 and confirmed by the Senate 53–34 on May 16, 2016. She is the judge in *Abrego Garcia v. Noem*, the civil and habeas case over the March 2025 removal of [[Kilmar Abrego Garcia]] to El Salvador. She ordered the government to facilitate his return on April 4, 2025 (affirmed in part by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] on April 10), opened the April 15, 2025 hearing by saying she had "no tolerance for gamesmanship," and on December 11, 2025 granted his habeas petition and ordered him released from ICE custody, writing: "No such order of removal exists for Abrego Garcia." In 2026 she barred his re-detention and his removal to Liberia. Full chronology: [[Kilmar Abrego Garcia Timeline]]. ## See Also - [[Kilmar Abrego Garcia Timeline]] · [[Kilmar Abrego Garcia CECOT]] · [[Waverly Crenshaw]] · [[Judicial Independence]]