K ilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man at the center of a long-running legal and political controversy over U.S. immigration enforcement, must be released from custody and returned to Maryland, two federal judges ruled Wednesday in separate decisions.

The filing took aim at comments last week in which the homeland security secretary “assailed Mr. Abrego’s character and reputation," his attorney said.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis barred federal immigration authorities from immediately taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into custody once he is released from criminal confinement in Tennessee.

Judge Xinis said she is 'deeply concerned' that without restraint, the Trump administration will seek to hurry Abrego Garcia out of the country for a second time.

A federal judge in Tennessee declined on Wednesday to undo a separate judge’s decision to let Kilmar Abrego Garcia remain free while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges — though he’ll continue to remain behind bars for at least another month.

A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he's released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges,