President Joe Biden appointed Judge Irma Carrillo Ramírez to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on April 14, 2023. In the first week of December, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Ramírez, who will become the first Latina judge to serve on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Born in Brownfield, Texas, in 1964 to immigrant parents, Ramírez earned her B.A. from West Texas A&M University in 1986 and her J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 1991.

Ramirez, the Texas-born daughter of Mexican immigrants, began her career as an associate at the law firm now known as Locke Lord from 1991 to 1995 before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

After working as an associate at the large commercial law firm, Ramírez joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas in 1995, where she defended the United States on a variety of issues, from employment discrimination to international drug trafficking conspiracy and money laundering cases. Her legal career also included experience in the Civil Division of the Attorney General's Office and the Task Force against Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement.

Appointed a federal magistrate judge in 2002, Ramírez handles civil cases transferred to her, issuing reports and recommendations to the district court. She presides over trials and sentencing for federal misdemeanor and misdemeanor cases, with a track record of more than 440 consent cases that have gone to verdict or trial under her management.

Although President Obama nominated her to the U.S. District Court in 2016, her confirmation was blocked, resulting in her remaining as a magistrate judge. Ramírez has received numerous awards for her judicial service, including Judge of the Year in 2022 by the Texas State Bar Association's Hispanic Issues Section. In addition, she serves on special committees, including the re-entry court in her district, providing support to people on supervised release, and contributes to the drafting of minimum standard guidelines for re-entry courts in the Fifth Circuit.

Source: https://www.afj.org/document/irma-carrillo-ramirez-fact-sheet/