He was a Mexican drug cartel target — Curiel worked as a federal prosecutor in Southern California with a focus on drug cases, which put him directly in the crosshairs of the Arellano cartel. Curciel was originally picked by Arnold Schwarzenegger — Then-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, appointed Curiel in 2006 to the state superior court, where he spent six years before ascending to the federal court. Curciel and Trump are both sons of immigrants — Curiel's parents were both immigrants from Jalisco, Mexico. Trump's mother, who is Scottish, arrived in the U.S. in the 1930s. Curiel stayed true to his Indiana roots — A 1976 graduate of Indiana University, he stayed in Bloomington for law school, entering private practice in Dyer, a city just outside his hometown, three years later. Curiel understands how to separate personal politics and law — "As a trial judge I recognize that I'm not there to make the law," Curiel said in a 2012 confirmation hearing.
