U.S. states, rights groups ask court to block bid to divert $1.5 billion towards Trump's wall

FILE PHOTO: A child, resident of Ciudad Juarez, looks through the bars of a wall from the side of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in this picture taken on the side of El Paso, Texas, U.S. May 25, 2019. REUTERS / Jose Luis Gonzalez

(Reuters) - Civil rights groups and 20 states asked a federal judge to prevent the Trump Administration from transferring $1.5 billion that Congress had approved for the military towards building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a court filing.

The request for a preliminary injunction, filed late Wednesday in Oakland, California, marks round two in what is expected to be a drawn-out fight over President Donald Trump's pledge to build a wall, which has been strenuously opposed by Democrats.