Earlier today, President Joe Biden announced his intention to nominate two Latinas to federal judicial positions. 

The first is Judge Ana de Alba, a candidate for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; the second is Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a candidate for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

Judge de Alba currently serves as a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California, a role in which she was nominated by President Biden in January 2022, confirmed in June, and sworn in on July 8, 2022.

Prior to taking on this role, she served as a judge on the Superior Court of California in Fresno County from 2018 to 2022.

That was preceded by an 11-year stint at the law firm Lang, Richert & Patch — six years as an associate and five years as a partner. Her practice focused on torts, employment law, and construction law. 

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, before going on to obtain her Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law. 

If confirmed, Judge de Alba would become just the fourth Hispanic woman to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

Judge Ramirez has served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Texas since 2002. 

She served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney Office for the Northern District of Texas for 7 years, going from working in the Civil Division to the Criminal Division.

Judge Ramirez began her legal career as an associate at Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, PC, now called Locke Lord LLP.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from West Texas State University before earning her Juris Doctor from the Southern Methodist University School of Law. 

If she is confirmed, Ramirez would be the first Hispanic woman to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the only active Hispanic judge on the Fifth Circuit. 

After the announcement, the Hispanic National Bar Association released a statement, congratulating both Ramirez and de Alba on their nominations.

HNBA President Mariana Bravo praised the bipartisan efforts in Texas and California to increase diversity within its judiciary.

“Hispanics are underrepresented in the Federal judiciary nationwide and Hispanic representation in the California and Texas federal judiciary remains unacceptably low. This is a step in the right direction towards ensuring that the federal judiciary reflects the diversity of the great states of California and Texas, and that Hispanic populations are represented,” said Bravo.

This marks Biden’s thirty-second round of nominees for federal judicial positions, bringing the number of announced federal judicial nominees to 163.

His nominations of de Alba and Ramirez are further fulfillments of Biden’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that it possesses.