[1] His family moved to El Paso, Texas, in 1966, where he graduated from Cathedral High School in 1972.

[1] Guaderrama received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975 from New Mexico State University and his Juris Doctor in 1979 from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

He served as Chief Public Defender of El Paso County, Texas, from 1987 to 1994.

[3][4] On September 14, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Guaderrama to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas,[3] to the seat vacated by Judge David Briones who assumed senior status on February 26, 2009.

On November 2, 2011, he received a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and his nomination was reported to the floor on December 1, 2011.