She was nominated to the position by President Joe Biden; and is both the first Latina and the first openly LGBT person to serve as a district court judge in Washington, D.C.[1] Reyes was born in 1974 in Montevideo, Uruguay.

[4][8] Reyes focused on cross-border legal issues and international arbitration, while also taking on pro bono work to represent asylum seekers and refugee organizations.

[14] In 2022, Reyes represented a Medtronic subsidiary in a court case by patients alleging they were injured by the company's hernia mesh products.

President Biden nominated Reyes to the seat being vacated by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who announced her intent to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor.

She accused the Department of Justice of hypocrisy in prosecuting Trump administration official Peter Navarro, noting that he had been imprisoned for not complying with House committee subpoenas.

In January 2024, Reyes sentenced Charles Littlejohn, who leaked the tax returns of Donald Trump along with several other wealthy taxpayers to the media, to five years in prison.

"Reyes added that Trump was under no legal obligation to release his tax returns, compared the whistleblower's actions to the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

[29] In 2023, Reyes presided over an antitrust case brought by the DOJ against Assa Abloy's acquisition of Spectrum Brands’ hardware and home improvement (HHI) division.