Rina Gandhi: The Indian American Attorney Who’s Leading the Effort to Bring Home Maryland Man Wrongfully Deported
- Representing Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, she is leading the charge for accountability form the Trump administration, as her client’s case remains in flux amid a legal battle between the government and the courts.
Indian American attorney Rina Gandhi is playing a central role in a legal battle over the wrongful deportation of a Maryland man to El Salvador. The Trump administration has so far refused to comply with a Supreme Court order requiring it to facilitate Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s return from a high-security prison for terrorists in El Salvador. Gandhi, who is representing the Garcia family, is leading the charge for accountability from the Trump administration, as her client’s case remains in flux amid a legal battle between the government and the courts.
On Wednesday, a federal judge issued a ruling calling on Trump administration officials to testify over whether they’re complying with a court order to “facilitate” his return. Speaking after the ruling, Gandhi said the judge’s ruling is “still a win, and this is still progress. They didn’t just say the word facilitate, they said facilitate his release from custody.”
In various television appearances, Gandhi, a partner at the Murray Osorio law firm, has been emphatic about holding the administration in contempt. Gandhi told MSNBC that she sees the April 15 court hearing as “an important step in getting answers and eventually getting Garcia back home.”
Calling it “a highly politicized case,” Gandhi told CNN that the judge’s ruling was “ultimately the right call to actually move this case forward.”
In various television appearances, Gandhi, a partner at the Murray Osorio law firm, has been emphatic about holding the administration in contempt.
Gandhi focuses her practice on affirmative filings, including family-based, naturalization, non-immigrant, and humanitarian cases, according to her company profile. She has been “exclusively practicing immigration law since 2014,” when she graduated from the prestigious William and Mary Law School.
Before joining Murray Osorio, she worked on both affirmative and removal defense cases, specializing in criminal-immigration issues and waivers. Prior to becoming an attorney, she worked at several non-profit organizations, including Catholic Charities, as a paralegal at an immigration law firm, and at a refugee resettlement agency.
Her interest in immigration law began with a service trip to Juarez, Mexico, in 2008, her company profile says. Gandhi always had a passion for law, especially as a tool for social justice, and this trip provided a path. Since then, she has been immersed in the immigration field and is fortunate to have worked in both non-profit and corporate law firm settings.
Gandhi is also an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center, where she teaches a course focused on gender based asylum law. She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Federal Bar Association (FBA), and co-chair for the AILA-DC USCIS Liaison committee, coordinating with USCIS on individual cases and larger policies.
For many years, Gandhi was the co-chair of the Advocacy Committee, engaging Congress with on-the-ground issues and advocating for reform. She frequently lectures on immigration law, including at conferences for AILA and the FBA, in webinars, and at universities. Beyond her legal practice, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to global philanthropic efforts. Gandhi spearheaded the Soap Project in Burkina Faso, an initiative focused on improving sanitation and disease prevention.